Source: World Health Organisation
Over the past three years, Edith has helped organize and support more than 70 vision screening events in the Lima area, bringing clearer vision—and renewed independence—to hundreds of seniors. These campaigns are essential, she says, because many older adults simply cannot afford to visit an eye doctor or purchase eyeglasses.
“With Pensión 65, these reading glasses are free,” Edith says proudly. For her, the Para Verte Mejor programme is about more than dispensing near-vision eyeglasses—it is about restoring dignity and enhancing the quality of life through improving self-sufficiency and productivity. The seniors that she serves tell her so. “With these eyeglasses, I can see better,” one said. “They help me to read, write, and do things that I couldn’t do before.”
Para Verte Mejor delivers vision screening and near-vision eyeglasses across the country. The initiative is a partnership between the National Solidarity Assistance Programme of the Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion, Pensión65, and Management Sciences for Health (MSH)-Perú, a local NGO, with the support of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and RestoringVision, the global nonprofit dedicated to tackling the challenges of presbyopia. RestoringVision partners with MSH-Perú to provide high-quality near-vision eyeglasses and technical support. Locally, MSH-Perú collaborates with Pensión 65 and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to implement vision screening and eyeglasses campaigns. To date, this partnership has given the gift of clear sight to more than 328,000 Pensión 65 beneficiaries across Peru.
In Lima, the numbers do not matter to Edith; what matters is the satisfaction she gets from helping each person. “It is support that gives them visual clarity, and therefore, a better life,” she says. “I feel happy. I enjoy my work with Pensión 65.”
Presbyopia is a frequent eyesight issue tied to aging that starts after you hit 40. It makes focusing on things up close hard, which can turn activities like reading, threading needles, or spotting small details into a challenge. It’s not an illness; it happens as the lens in the eye becomes less flexible with age. The most cost-effective treatment for presbyopia is eyeglasses. Since presbyopia happens with age, you can’t stop it from occurring. Regular eye checkups help to detect it and avoid its effects.
This story was developed by RestoringVision, based on an interview conducted and photographed by MSH-Perú.
Photo credits:Jorge Luis Verástegui Topovich and Ricardo Edu Alemán Sánchez.
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