NOW on its 20th year, the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) and Lions International-District 301-E, led by Cagayan de Oro Lapasan Lions Club, under Past District Governor and District Global Service Team (GST) Coordinator Lion PDG Mart Damian B. Maandig, 2PMJF held the Sight for Kids Project.
The Lions Sight for Kids project provides free, public school-based eye health screenings, education, and treatments to children in underserved communities. It aims to detect vision issues early to prevent permanent impairment and support educational success. The project started in 2006 which aims to test the vision of public elementary students within the Department of Education-City Schools Division of Cagayan de Oro City.
The Sight For Kids (SFK) program helps with early diagnosis, intervention and treatment, which is essential for children’s educational and future success. School-age children without access to eye health services run the risk of difficulty in school studies, learning comprehension, lower quality of life and even blindness.
As an active advocate of the Sight for Kids Project, Lion PDG Mart Maandig states that “By helping children see clearly, we are changing their future, and we are giving them a leg up in life.”
Those who were found with higher than normal eye grades would be recipients of the eyeglasses which will be handed out at the end of each school year by March. According to PDG Maandig, around 6,000 students were screened this schoolyear 2025-26, with 193 identified as having vision problems. These students were given free prescription eyeglasses during the awarding ceremony held on March 19 at Barangay Agusan Gym, Cagayan de Oro City, attended by the 193 students-beneficiaries, with their parents and guardians, DepEd school nurses, barangay officials, led by Punong Barangay Andrew Melliza and city government officials led by City Councilor Moreno Jing Daba-Chairman of the Committee on Education, City Councilor Paolo Gaane-Chairman of the Committee on Health, and City Councilor Alam Lim representing City Mayor Klarex Uy.
The 193 schoolchildren are students of the host barangay Agusan Elementary School, Bugo Elementary School, Cugman Elementary School, West City Central School, PN Roa Elementary School and PN Roa Senior High School. For the next school year which will start this June, the project is expected to be expanded to the province of Misamis Oriental, more particularly in Tagloan and Villanueva.
The Sight for Kids Project is an initiative of Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF), in partnership with Johnson & Johnson Vision. The SFK Project in the city is led by Cagayan de Oro Lapasan Lions Club, with Club President Evelyn Sumpay and Dr. Leo Generalao as its Project Chairman.
