World Sight Day

Vision and sight are vital to the everyday lives of human beings, from allowing people to navigate their way around and do their work to creating intimacy when eye contact is made with another person. Vision works toward keeping people safe, connecting them with their surroundings and even helping to maintain sharp minds.

Sadly, many people around the world lose their sight, often for preventable reasons, simply because they don’t have access to appropriate eye health care. World Sight Day seeks to help people understand the importance of keeping their vision protected, whether in the workplace or at home. In addition, the day is meant to bring vision care providers together in the common cause of encouraging people and equipping people to love their eyes!

History of World Sight Day

World Sight Day is a special annual day that is celebrated around the world each year in order to focus on raising awareness for blindness and vision impairment. The day was first established by the Lions Club Foundation and it was first celebrated in 1984. A few years later, the effort was collaborated by the World Health Organization (WHO) along with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).

The IAPB is an organization that is a global alliance in which a variety of charitable organizations and NGOs from more than 100 countries work together to create a world where every person has access to the eye care they need.

A large number of organizations around the world have been involved with World Sight Day for many years. Awareness for the issue of blindness, including prevention and finding a cure, is spread through a large number of different events in celebration of the day.

Some people choose to show their support for World Sight Day by planting trees, while other people get involved by submitting a photograph online that will be used to create an international photograph montage focusing on the theme of blindness.

Other activities that take place on World Sight Day may include special fundraising walks to help cover the costs of operations, book readings for the blind and a number of booklets and posters that are created in order to raise awareness of the issue.

In addition to celebrating World Sight Day, those who want to observe and raise awareness for the issues of blindness at another time during the year can participate in Gift of Sight Month during the month of December.

How to Celebrate World Sight Day

Consider a variety of ideas that can be implemented in celebration of World Sight Day, including some of these:

Get a Vision Check

One good way to celebrate World Sight Day is allowing it to act as a reminder to set up an appointment with an eye care specialist for everyone in the family. While this is especially important for those who have a need for vision correction, it’s also an important step for everyone to keep up their eye health and prevent eye diseases of many kinds.

Those who are planning to get a vision check can even go online and make a sight test pledge through the IAPB website. The organization opens their website to pledges 100 days before World Sight Day with the goal of 10 million pledges by the time the day comes around.

Make a Donation for Vision and Eye Care

Many people in certain parts of the globe are more at risk for blindness and other optical issues because they may not have adequate access to eye care. World Sight Day provides an ideal motivation to make a donation to a charity that helps people who are struggling to get the vision care they need.

Some other charitable organizations to consider at this time might be:

• Helen Keller International
• Foundation Fighting Blindness
• National Federation of the Blind
• The Seva Foundation