Vision Care 2015

At the company I am interning with, Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad, there are several CSR initiatives that the public relations department are involved with. These CSR programs are not only limited to the efforts engendered by the PR department, but are also assisted by other departments within SOPB too. One of the CSR initiatives in which I was able to join in during my work placement is the Vision Care Program.

The Vision Care Program is an eye care project aimed at reducing the incidence of preventable blindness especially in children and elderly folks who settle in long house communities at SOPB's palm oil estates. This program is one that is very important in improving the resident's health and quality of life, as not having immediate access to medical facilities and other kinds of health treatments, can be very burdening and difficult to the residents who need them. This is not just due to financial constraints but also the remoteness of their living place from the nearest health care facility. The first Vision Care Program was held in Tinbarap in May 2013, and the program proved to be much of a success that SOPB held its second Vision Care program in November later that year.

There are various benefits that Vision Care have been able to offer to the residents of the long house communities. Since the implementation of the program, many residents who have been diagnosed with eye cataract have been able to undergo cataract surgery, fully funded by the company. Besides that, vision aids such as free spectacles are distributed to those with visual acuity problems. Moreover, further medical review are given to those who have eye defects beyond what can be treated by the optometrist, and transportation can be provided for residents who need to undergo further consultation.

DAY 1 - Wednesday, 28 October 2015

A group of 16 SOPB staffs including me, assembled at the company's headquarters at an exceptionally early time of 5 a.m. in the morning. In the corporate world, however, turning up to work at ridiculous hours is not uncommon. To everyone's surprise, everyone were present ten minutes earlier, and so we could depart earlier than expected. It would be a long journey of over three in a half hours to SOPB's Sabaju estate. When we arrived at Rumah Anchai, there was no down-time as we delved straight into action, putting up the banners and setting up the stations to run the event as smoothly as possible. Much to my surprise, SOPB's efficient staff work in perfect coordination and everything that needed setting up was completed an hour earlier than scheduled. Few groups of Sabaju long house residents turned up to Rumah Anchai not long after.

Everything was in full swing and it was interesting to see a long house for the first time in my life despite having studied in Sarawak for 3 years. I was assigned videographer for the event which is to be incorporated into a corporate video to promote the company's CSR projects. The event went well, and out of the 55 residents who turned up, 49 were given new spectacles whereas 30 were identified as needing further medical consultation which will be done at Klinik Kesihatan Sungai Sebauh (Sebauh Health Clinic) on the 27th November 2015.

The day's event wrapped up much earlier than expected (about three hours earlier) which gave us time to settle down after a long day's work and also to prepare for the second day of the event the next morning.

DAY 2 - Thursday, 29 October 2015

After getting a good night's sleep in a long time, most of us were in good spirits for the second day of the Vision Care Program. We arrived at Rumah Osman Jau at SOPB's Sepakau Palm Oil Mill Estate at 9 am and we  were welcomed by the Tuai Rumah (Host). We repeated the cycle of the previous day - setting up the banners and stations to ensure the smoothness of the day's event.  This time, we were expecting a bigger turnout to the program, and fairly enough that was the case. A total of 82 long house residents turned up to get their eyes checked. 70 residents were awarded with new spectacles whereas 48 were listed as needing further medical review which will be done at Klinik Kesihatan Sungai Asap (Sungai Asap Health Clinic) on the 13th November 2015. As per usual, we ended the event hours in advance than scheduled and were treated lunch by the Tuai Rumah.

The banner designed for the eye care project

Sabaju residents who turned up to the event at Rumah Anchai

Sabaju residents at the registration counter

Handing over of free spectacles to resident in need

SOPB group photo with Sabaju residents at Rumah Anchai, Sabaju

Sepakau resident trying on her new spectacles

  A certificate of appreciation awarded to the Tuai Rumah, Osman Jau

SOPB group photo with Sepakau residents at Rumah Osman Jau, Sepakau

Both of the events turned out better than expected and a grand total of 86.9% of all the attendees at both events were awarded spectacles, together with 56.9% having to go for further medical consultation.

Till next time,
Jaafar Mohamed
7e2a9907/16320752
Curtin University, Miri campus.