Eye doctor goes to rural areas

By NAOMI KALATE
AN optician has seen the neglect of eye care and advice afforded to rural folk and is offering these services to the people in Morobe’s districts.
Dale Gatnie said he aimed to fill a gap in the provision of eye care especially to those who could not access such services or afford them.
“Right now, I’m renting a space at the Morobe Special Education Centre and carrying out my services privately under Star Vision Optical,” he said.
Gatnie registered his business in 2013 and has carried out outreach programmes to rural areas such as parts of Wau and Bulolo.
He currently services Wau-Waria, Kataipa and Gunima in Goilala, Asama and Kira two villages along the border of Northern.
“I have seen the need for eye care services when working with Callan Optical Services from 2008 to 2010, therefore I came up with the idea,” Gatnie said.
Star Vision provides primary eye care services, including prescribing reading glasses, distance glasses, low vision and bifocal glasses.
“If only the government could see the importance of such services and its significance in the rural areas by assisting financially to carry out the outreach programmes in terms of buying new spectacles, the operations, travel costs and allowances,” Gatnie said.
He said sight was perhaps the most important of the body’s senses and as such needed to be cared for in order to last the individual’s lifetime.
He said vision impairment not only disadvantaged individuals it also lowered their quality of life limited their activities, roles and responsibilities.
“If a person’s eyes are not functioning well than there isn’t much that a person can do, he or she can only use the other four senses such as touching, smelling, tasting and hearing,” he said.
Gatnie, from Wosera in East Sepik, did his last outreach in Kaitapa in Goilala in 2021 and he looked forward to carrying out more such activities.
The Callan Optical Services is a service provider within the Network of Callan Services for Persons with Disabilities.