“At least 2.2 billion people have vision impairment or blindness, of which over 1 billion cases could have been prevented or have yet to be addressed”. World Health Organisation (WHO).
Your Eyes at Work is about helping people understand the importance of protecting their vision in the workplace and calling on business leaders to prioritise the eye health of employees, everywhere. With the help of our partners and members, we aim to raise awareness to emphasise how important it is to #LoveYourEyes.This is our opportunity to motivate employers everywhere to implement change.
“Almost everyone on the planet will experience an eye health issue in their lifetime, yet more than a billion people worldwide do not have access to eye care services,” says Nivien Subramany, President of the SAOA. “This is a global issue, but one that starts with us. This year, we are calling on partners and members to help us test the eyes of workers throughout the country. Host a vision screening in your workplace to help everyone, everywhere, to #Love Your Eyes.”
No matter where you are or what job you do, it is important to prioritise and protect your eye health at work. This includes everything from avoiding accidents in the workplace, which are too often caused by or lead to poor vision, to productivity, which is greatly improved when the eye health of employees is made a priority.
SAOA BIG WALK FOR SIGHT
World Sight Day is on Thursday, 12th October 2023. The aim of the SAOA Big Walk for Sight is to focus attention on the importance of eye care in the workplace. Together, we will encourage employers to make eye health initiatives standard practice and promote eye health habits that will benefit the well-being, safety, and productivity of millions of employees.
The first step, literally, is prioritising your own eye health, and we invite employers and employees, sighted and visually impaired, to pledge to #LoveYourEyes and participate in the SAOA Big Walk for Sight.
Meerendal Wine Estate is a magnificent venue with picturesque walking trails, well known as a bikers and hikers paradise, and which has hosted large events such as KFM Day. The Big Walk is a sobering reminder that the beauty of our surroundings, such as the Meerendal walking trail, is in the eyes of the beholders, but only if the beholders have healthy vision.
VENUE & TIME
The Big Walk will take place from 10:00-14:00 at Meerendal Wine Estate, Visserhok Rd, Durbanville, Cape Town GPS coordinates: 33.7990° S, 18.6240° E
DONATIONS
Donations can be made, on a voluntary basis to:
SA Guide Dogs: https://guidedog.org.za/
https://guidedog.org.za/support-us/
Retina SA: https://www.retinasa.org.za/contact-retinasa/
https://www.retinasa.org.za/donate-now/
QUERIES
Should you have any queries, or require additional information, contact the SAOA office on 011 805 4517 during office hours or marketing@saoa.co.za
