Delivering glasses to children in Uganda

Katrina Uganda glasses visit.jpg

Katrina’s trip to Uganda


I finally arrived in Entebbe airport, slightly dazed after an overnight flight with two stopovers. Dickson was there to meet me and we drove straight to the Mityana Disctrict, which is where we have carried out an extensive program, checking the eyesight of children at the local primary schools.


I was here for the best part of our glasses program, which is delivering the new prescription glasses to the children. In Uganda, you have to pass your end of year exams to go up to the next class. This means that if you are dyslexic or have eyesight problems (the two often go hand in hand) or have had to take time out of school for financial reasons, you might not pass your exams and will remain in your current class for a further year. I visited 7 schools while I was there and I always spot the older children who are still in primary school and interestingly they almost always require glasses. I try my best to boost their confidence and explain to them that the glasses will have a big impact on their learning going forward.


The children are the highlight of my trip. You see all the personalities there. The shy ones who refuse to smile, the slightly boisterous children who, even if they don’t require glasses, make sure to capture my attention. They are all so welcoming and curious to have a ‘mzungo’ at their school and I enjoy meeting them all.


I would like to say a big shout out to our wonderful team in Uganda: Dickson, the Major, Betty and Sylvia for their hard work and dedication to helping these children and I look forward to my next visit to Uganda.

Katrina Swift
Posted by Katrina Swift
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