Empowering people who are blind or visually impaired with lifelong skills for safe and independent daily travel.

Seventy-five years ago, three Lions and a few Lions Clubs came together to establish an organization to train guide dogs for people who are blind. They were committed to empowering people with lifelong skills for independent travel through quality Leader Dogs. And it is because of Lions and their continued belief in our mission that they have been able to help change the lives of thousands of people who live in darkness.

One child goes blind every minute. Half-a-million children will have lost their sight by the end of the year. Tragically, the majority of these cases could be treated or prevented. In an effort to prevent this unnecessary suffering, in 2001 LCIF and the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the first-ever initiative to combat childhood blindness throughout the world.

Through a partnership on the Project for Elimination of Avoidable Childhood Blindness, 34 needs-based pediatric Lions eye care centers in countries around the globe have been established or strengthened. These centers are aimed especially at delivering preventative, therapeutic, and rehabilitative eye care services for 121 million children.

To help fund this project, LCIF has given SightFirst grants totaling close to US$7 million, divided among the six WHO regions where the eye centers are located. During recent evaluations, each country showed that it was significantly closer to achieving the goal of fighting avoidable childhood blindness. Due to this success, a second phase of the project will provide additional support to 10 of the centers and establish 16 new centers.

District A-1 Sight Conservation can be seen at:http://lionseyesright.ca