Twelve kindergartens and five schools on the territory of Sofia are included in the campaign for free eye examinations “Smiley Eyes” which started yesterday and will last until the end of May. The initiative is under the auspices of Sofia Municipality in partnership with Alexandrovska University Hospital, the Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria “Shalom”, National Network for Children, Lions Club St. John of Rila and the largest children optical store in the country.
The Mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova personally inaugurated the initiative on April 2 and expressed special thanks to the Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria “Shalom” for the continuous effort to lead socially responsible campaigns and build an ever-growing alliance to support the concept of tikkun olam – mending the world. For another year in a row, Sofia Municipality unites efforts with the oldest university hospital and the NGO sector to provide a free screening test. In the next couple of months more than 1800 Bulgarian children will be seen by a specialist.
The President of the Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria “Shalom” Assoc. Prof. Alexander Oscar commented yesterday that to this moment more than 5000 children have been consulted during previous editions of the initiative, 10% of them needed another more detailed examination by an ophthalmologist. According to the statistics, 250 children were diagnosed with more serious conditions and accepted at Alexandrovska Medical Hospital for continuing treatment.
“Today those 250 children stand a true chance to have good vision at older age. This would have never been possible without the initial screening test which determined the deficiencies early enough,” further said Dr. Oscar.
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