Bangkok--9 Apr--Verve
In honor of "HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn's 60th Birthday Anniversary
The “Princess Sirindhorn’s Spectacles for the Elderly” project by Top Charoen Optical and the Thai Red Cross Children's Home will be extended for another five years in honor to H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s 60th Birthday Anniversary. The continuation of this project, firstly launched in 2009 to help senior persons living in remote areas with eyesight problems, is in accordance with the caring heart of H.R.H. the Princess and general public is also encouraged to take part in this goodwill project. The official announcement on the project’s extension, recently held at Siam Discovery, was joined by many celebrities including Warintorn “Great” Panhakarn and Pechaya “Min” Wattanamontree.
On this occasion, Mr. Noppasak Treeponchaisak, Managing Director of Top Charoen Optical revealed that “The Princess Sirindhorn’s Spectacles for the Elderly project, founded in 2009, is a collaboration between Top Charoen Optical and the Thai Red Cross Children's Home in order to offer helping hands to senior citizens who live in remote areas and have visual problems. The project took shape from the attention of H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on difficulties these elderly people face and consequential burdens on their family members due to the loss of their normal livelihood. Under this benevolent project, the elderly across the nation can benefit from the opportunity to have their eyes tested and spectacles made by teams of experts and modern equipment through the field work of Top Charoen Optical.”
“As planned earlier, the project was scheduled to end at the end of the year 2014. Yet, we asked for H.R.H. the Princess’s permission to continue the project for another five years, or from 2015 to 2019, in order to honor H.R.H. the Princess’s 60th birthday anniversary on 2 April 2015. As of 2014, our project visited 75 areas nationwide. We corrected eyesight of 400 to 500 elderly people per visited area.” added Mr. Noppasak.
On the project’s operation, senior citizens will be firstly screened by the Department of Social Development and Welfare, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, through the support of its Provincial Social Development and Welfare Offices in respective areas of each field trip. Basic criteria for a senior citizen to become beneficiary of this project include a minimum age of 45 and an evident visual problem that needs to be corrected. For aging people who have eye problems that cannot be corrected with use of spectacles, such as cataract or other types of visual impairments, the project will facilitate transfer of the cases to Top Charoen Eye Center, an eye center dedicated to treatment of severe eye problems and eyesight correction. Top Charoen Eye Center will provide treatment of 100 eyes per year at no cost to the elderly diagnosed with eye problem under this project.
M.R. Jiyakorn Sesavej, a member of the board of the Thai Red Cross Children's Home, elaborated on the same occasion that “Body deterioration is one of health risks senior citizen face and the decline of eyesight is one of major physical worries that concerns them. Visual impairments figuratively paralyze these people as they have to live their daily lives with numerous difficulties. Spectacles or eyeglasses are vital to people with eyesight problems, especially senior citizens. However, many of them who live in faraway areas cannot get ophthalmology treatments for visual impairments, eye examination or even eyeglasses.”
“With a caring heart of H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, she well noted in visual difficulties senior people living upcountry face and she wishes to provide all related aids to them. H.R.H. the Princess and our project aim to give the aged a better quality of life. In addition to the merit of restoring their ability to make a living and take better care of themselves, the project will help relieve the burden of them on their family members and given them the potential to help raise young members in their family. In summary, our initiative is a key that leads to further citizen development and the nation’s progress in various aspects,” continued M.R. Jiyakorn.
This big-hearted press conference featured many kind activates including a special photo exhibition to show the campaign’s movement from the first day in 2009 until 2014 and a workshop for DIY eyeglass loops that was joined by many superstars, celebrities, and general public with benevolence. These DIY loops will be donated to elderly people in need living in every corner of the nation. Ultimately, the initiative also offered complimentary eye examination service and eyeglasses to senior citizens from Pak Kret, Nonthaburi. For further information on this project, please call 02-612-4710 or visit www.topcharoen.co.th.