Nearly 6,000 islanders were benefitted by the recent Eye Mission mounted by the Third World Eye Care Society Canada (TWECS) in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Virac and the municipal government of Virac last Feb. 19-26, 2024.
A total of 5,488 patients were checked for vision problems while the mission dispensed a total of 4,475 eyeglasses to patients who underwent refraction test and other optometric examinations, with the total value of services provided by TWECS estimated at nearly P11 million.
The effort of the TWECS Canada led by founding president Dr. Maria Roma-March, the Rotary Club of Virac headed by President Maria Cleofe R. Laynes at the helm, and Virac Mayor Samuel V. Laynes was fully supported by Gov. Joseph C. Cua and Vice Governor Peter C. Cua.
The mission held at the Rural Health Unit at the Virac Community Hub in San Isidro Village, came about through the effort and persistence of former Ambassador Zenaida Tacorda-Rabago.
Upon arrival, the TWECS group started immediately upon arrival, covering eight full days of eye examination/refraction of indigents and giving out of free prescription glasses, with the beneficiaries not only Viracnons, but also residents of nine other municipalities.
Aside from the patients served at the Virac RHU, around 200 pupils from San Isidro Village Elementary School in Virac were also examined by the TWECS team. Four pupils who were found to have eyesight problems were referred to the Rural Health Unit (RHU) for further checkup.
During the Thanksgiving Night for the eye mission hosted by Governor Joseph Cua, Virac Rotary President Maria Cleofe R. Laynes acknowledged the 7-day Eye Mission spearheaded by the Third World Eye Care Society Canada for providing Catandunganons access to world-class optometry service.
“Backed by our equally heroic volunteers—doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, support personnel, and civic-minded citizens—we concluded the mission with resounding success,” Laynes said.
Dr. Roma-March, a Filipino-Canadian eye doctor who headed the Eye Mission along with her husband, initiated TWECS Canada – Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity-British Columbia (VOSH-BC) in 1995. She has led and organized over 18 international eye care missions and received the Philippine Presidential Award for Humanitarian Service.
In an earlier statement, Mayor Sammy Laynes thanked also the Provincial Health Office, Virac Rural Health Unit, and the Mayors of the 10 LGUs in Catanduanes for their valuable assistance to the optometry mission.