Ugandan children see bright future thanks to British book donation from Optical Express
Optical Express are committed to supporting local and global charitable organisations and have donated resources and financial donations to hundreds of charities, including RNIB, STV Children’s Appeal, Sightsavers, The Hunter Foundation...the list goes on.
In 2014 we supported Lightforce International with educational resources for children.
Since 2004, LightForce International has worked in Lira, Northern Uganda. This initially involved working in the displaced peoples’ camps at the height of the rebel insurgency which devastated the lives of so many people. After a holding peace was in place, those displaced moved back to their villages and began the process of rebuilding their homes and working their land. LightForce International supported the return process and worked with communities with priority emphasis on the education and health sectors.
Since 2007, they’ve been working on a number of objectives and have purchased land and developed projects in Telela, Omito Parish Lira. They employ over 50 local people to support the running of their projects which include: Nursery, Primary School Agricultural & Vocational School, Children’s Village, Visitors centre and Community Health Centre and they farm 140 acres with a mixture of crops and livestock.
LightForce International has enjoyed partnerships with World Food Programme, UNICEF and Memisa Belgium and Optical Express was able to support the charity’s endeavours with support for their education programme by donating 1,000 specialist children’s books ‘Eye See a Dragon in the Glen’ which was illustrated by Hollie Jamieson. These books were provided to support the charity’s commitment to improve the eye care of children.
There are a number of ways to support Lightforce International including financial donations, clothing and school sponsorship.
Mary-Frances Kelly, Marketing Manager at Optical Express said “We are delighted to have been able to support the inspiring work of Lightforce International in supporting the people of Uganda who need it most. We all understand the power of education and it’s important for us as an organisation to support transformational project such as this one.”