KNYSNA NEWS - The Knysna Lions have made incredible strides in their mission to assist people with sight problems.
Since 1999, when they began their signature annual fundraising event, the Lions Karoo to Coast Mountain Bike Challenge, 5 901 people in the Southern Cape have undergone cataract operations through sponsorship by the Lions.
Cornea grafts
"There are nearly 6 000 people who can see who wouldn't have been able to," past president of the Knysna Lions, Olwen Toms, who runs their sight projects, said.
People from Riversdale to Knysna and Plettenberg Bay had received assistance. The Lions have also facilitated cornea grafts and operations to correct congenital defects.
"We have sponsored 20 cornea replacements so far, and we have urgent need of suitable corneas for many patients, whose only hope to see is this expensive procedure.
"There is no other way to correct or improve the patient's sight without replacing the cornea, so this is a dramatic need.
'Confidence restored'
"Over the last few years we have sponsored three operations for people born with defective vision and 41operations for children with squints.
"These people had their vision and their confidence restored," Toms said.
The Lions have come to the aid of people whose retinas have become detached or have had macular problems.
"This is a fairly rare request, and we sponsor this at the behest of the ophthalmologist concerned. We have sponsored five such operations."
Spectacles
The Lions Karoo to Coast event was started by the Knysna Lions and the Uniondale Lions - the event begins in Uniondale and ends in Knysna - and the two clubs work together to help people experiencing vision difficulties.
"Knysna Lions supply on average 300 pairs of spectacles every year, through the Operation Brightsight division of Lions.
"We are working on supplying free spectacles to 100 schoolchildren in the Knysna area. We thank the optometrists who give so generously and regularly of their time and expertise for those who cannot afford regular eye care."
Guide dogs
The Lions have assisted blind people through providing R100 000 to the SA Guide-Dogs Association annually.
"Initially the money was used to buy 10 puppies and then we elected that they (SA Guide-Dogs) use the money to select one puppy, which is then trained until it is handed over to a blind person," Toms said.
"We paid for 66 puppies - and then the nine (chosen by SA Guide-Dogs) that were trained and given to an owner. Each of these nine dogs cost R100 000 to train.
"They serve as people's eyes. When you put the harness on, the dog is 'on duty'; when the harness is off, the dogs play."
The puppies (bred to be guide dogs) bought in groups were taken for walks by "puppy walkers" who sought to make each one accustomed to loud noises and other disturbances, and those able to meet this requirement were trained to be guide dogs and those unable to were sold as pets.
Title sponsor sought
Toms said: "Funds raised from the Lions Karoo to Coast are dedicated to sight, and we would be keen to have a new title sponsor for the 2026 event."
The Knysna Lions' next fundraising event is a soapbox rally, to be held in the Knysna industrial area on 28 April.
Parents whose children are interested in participating in the rally can contact Andy Smithen at 082 600 8793.
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