A GROUP of community minded youngsters have donated 370 pairs of glasses to the Nowra Lioness Club for its Recycle for Sight program.
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One in seven of the population of third world countries need spectacles so they can experience the same level of sight most of us take for granted.
The lack of proper vision may be caused by malnutrition, lack of vitamin A, hereditary factors, disease or a combination of these factors.
For many years Lions International have been collecting used spectacles and after sorting, cleaning and grading send them to other Lions Clubs around the world.
Members of the junior youth group MAD-JY (Making a Difference - Junior Youth) has been collecting the glasses through the Optical Superstore Nowra for the last three years to donate to people in need in the third world.
The idea came about after MAD-JY participants were encouraged to think about the needs of their community and how they can be of service.
The group has completed a number of projects over the years such as visiting the elderly, raising money for Shoalhaven Zoo, participating in Relay for Life and Clean Up Australia Day.
They have also helped at Parents and Citizens fundraising events, raised money for Kiva, a micro financing organisation in the third world, as well as helping out at children’s camps.
Nowra Lioness member Hilda Godlewski said the glasses would be sent to the Lions’ repair centre in Redcliffe, Queensland before being sent overseas.
“We have been collecting glasses since the early 1990s and send them to the need in areas in Africa, the Pacific and Indonesia,” Mrs Godlewski said.
“This is a great effort and donation from the children and we can’t thank them enough.”