Vision of care for village children

China Daily and Jia Yue Eye Surgery Centre joined hands to offer free examinations to children at the Beijing Sun Village on May 11.

The village provides shelter for children of jailed parents and there are nine such sites around China.

The Beijing village was founded in 2000 and cares for 92 children. Public donations provide for living expenses.

A medical worker of Jia Yue is handling the optometry unit while another one is helping a boy keep his eyes as close as possible to the equipment. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Nineteen China Daily employees and members of their families along with 10 medical workers and representatives of the Jia Yue Eye Surgery Centre helped at the eye exam.

With two optometry units and one eye chart, the medical workers conducted an eye check on all the children as well as some teachers and volunteers.

"We can't bring all our instruments here. It's only a preliminary check. If serious problems are found, we will invite those children to our center for further examination," said Yang Wei, manager of the Jia Yue Eye Surgery Centre.

"We will offer children with any optical problems free glasses and carry out regular examinations."

Zhou Mengxin, 23, a volunteer from the Beijing Union University, welcomed the initiative.

"Teachers here are very special to the children," she told China Daily.

"People who care and show their care can make a huge difference and bring warmth to the children."

Xiong Ning, the center's medical director, said: "We found that some children have poor eyesight. We hope we can teach the children a good and healthy habit of eye protection."

Managed by Singapore Medical Group, a publicly listed company in Singapore, Jia Yue Eye Surgery Centre opened in Beijing in June 2012.

The center employs state-of-the-art equipment including the surgery platform for iLASIK –- the premier vision correction LASIK treatment approved by NASA and US Defense Department for astronauts and flight pilots.

China Daily has always been active in public service. Before the initiative on Saturday, China Daily had held several fundraisers and voluntary activities in Sun Village.

Ni Haitao, who played a key role in organizing the initiative, said: "China Daily is broadening its voluntary and charity activities by joining hands with Jia Yue Eye Surgery Centre. We will continue to make full use of our resources to make a greater contribution to society. "