Scores of Solwezi residents over the weekend trooped to Kyawama market where the Lions Club of Solwezi-Kansanshi was offering free eye screening services in an effort to have their sight checked.
Lions Club of Solwezi-Kansanshi President, Gift Munthali said the club was targeting 150 clients adding that the club was grateful to be of help to the Solwezi community. Mr. Munthali said the reading glasses were a donation from an American businessman, Patrick Browne who handed over a thousand glasses to the club.
Last year, the Solwezi Lions Club sponsored charity drive at First Quantum Minerals that raised $200 for reading glasses for the underprivileged in the area around Solwezi. (Diabetes, which is a huge problem in Zambia due to poor diet, contributes to poor eyesight.)
At the charity drive Patrick Browne, president of Flightdeck Safety Initiatives, announced that his company would donate 1,000 pairs of glasses to the Solwezi Lions Club to supplement their efforts that day. This announcement was met by a standing ovation.
Mr. Munthali added that similar screenings will be conducted in other districts of the province in line with the Club’s vision of providing sight related services to the community it serves. By press time the Lions in conjunction with eye specialists who had began the screening exercise around 12:00hrs were still seen serving the clients around 17:00hrs.
