Can average teenagers name more than 5 parts of the eye, or show the location of the macula, or describe the visual impairment caused by glaucoma? Well, apparently they can provided we spend time and exert effort to educate them and explain the topic. 

On October 13th, 2016, the Armenian EyeCare Project (AECP) organized an orientation tour, educational session and a contest for 12-13 year-old students in two regions of Armenia. Those activities took place at the newly opened regional ophthalmological centers located in the cities of Spitak and Ijevan.  These centers were established thanks to the AECP financial and technical support in cooperation with the Armenian Ministry of Health.

Under the guidance of the AECP ophthalmologists the students were introduced to the facilities and equipment of the eye clinics. Some of them even had a chance to check/observe each other’s eyes using several ophthalmological devices. The facility tour was followed by an interactive presentation on the structure of eye, vision processing by the brain, visual illusions, eye safety measures, and common eye diseases. The most fascinating part of this event was the competition between students in two cities who were able to communicate through Skype connection provided by a local telecommunication company – Ucom! The students had to answer vision related questions as well as identify main parts of eye structure on a diagram.

The AECP also organized public education sessions on eye care at 10 schools located throughout Armenia. One of the sessions took place in a school for children with hearing impairments which triggered high interest among students since similar events are relatively scarce at that educational establishment. At the end of the presentations the teachers introduced several sections from an educational book Desunik’s Game of Sight (activity book for children in the age of 8-11) that the AECP prepared for publication to be released by the end of 2016.

The AECP was the initiator of WSD celebrations in Armenia since 2004. During the last 12 years the AECP organized variety of events to raise public awareness and promote the cause of eliminating preventable blindness. Previous activities organized by the AECP included press conferences, production of posters and information leaflets, free eye screenings in public locations, tournaments involving visually impaired, public education sessions, flash-mobs and other events that conveyed the messages of WSD.

Our mission is eliminating
preventable blindness and
making eye care accessible to
all people in Armenia.