Kokebe is 14 years old and has two sisters and is one of the students that was seen through the school eye health programme provided by Vision Action in collaboration with Oromia Regional Health Bureau.
She had previously struggled to progress through grades two to four due to her poor eyesight, and eventually left school as a result. She had been absent for more than four months when the Heath Extension Worker (HEW), trained under this project, came to her home and screened her for vision problems.
The HEW immediately noticed a problem and told her to come to the school on a specific date to be seen by the mobile eye clinic team. Kokebe was seen by the optometrist and prescribed glasses for her high myopia. Since receiving the glasses, she can now read and differentiate everything easily during day and night.
She is now attending school every day and her school performance has improved. Kokebe is elated to be one of the beneficiaries of the school eye health project as it has brought her closer to realizing her dream of becoming a nurse when she’s older.