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Donating spectacles to help less fortunate see better
To date, the movement has delivered around 30,000 pairs of glasses to people in a number of areas throughout the nation – Ambon in Maluku and Flores in East Nusa Tenggara are but a few.
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Volunteers of Komunitas Sejuta Kacamata (a million glasses community) charity group are seen during an event in Bekasi, West Java on May 28, 2017.
(Via kompas.com/www.1000mata.org)
D
onors can get to feel grateful for helping the less fortunate to see the world as it should be by donating old spectacles to a house in Palmerah, West Jakarta.
The house is where Denny Heriberitus runs his printing business while at the same time managing social movement Sejuta Kacamata untuk Indonesia (A Million Glasses for Indonesia). His employee, Nana, is used to accepting the second-hand glasses.
“There are only five packages today. One day in November, I received more than 60 packages, each of which contained more than one pair of specs,” Nana told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Denny, who cofounded the movement with his friends in 2015, said that it began with them receiving only money as donations. They used the money to buy new glasses to be donated to those who have problems with their vision.
In November, the movement started receiving second-hand glasses to reach people in need outside Greater Jakarta. Their main target is children and the elderly, believing that those in their productive years have the ability to purchase their own spectacles.
To date, the movement has delivered around 30,000 pairs of glasses to people in a number of areas throughout the nation – Ambon in Maluku and Flores in East Nusa Tenggara are but a few.
Through the specs, the elderly, most of whom suffer from hypermetropia or long sightedness, should to be able to restore their eyesight and stay productive.
“Some of them are illiterate. I used to wonder why they needed spectacles. Then it hit me when they said they needed glasses to help them weaving, sewing or any other activities to earn a living,” he said.
With the help of more than 100 volunteers in the city alone, and around 100 more in other regions, Sejuta Kacamata manages to deliver the donations once a month. In every charity event, they deliver 1,000 pairs of glasses.
Every month in 2019 has been booked, so proposals to hold such events in other cities have to be scheduled for 2020. The next event will be on March 23 in Ciledug, Banten.
“We usually coordinate with our local volunteers first. They prepare the venue and disburse coupons to potential recipients. Then, on the charity day, volunteers from Jakarta, with the help of an expert from an appointed optician, comes and bring along an eye-test kit and the second-hand specs,” Denny explained.
The optician will make the specified lenses for the recipients and the volunteers will deliver them to the recipients the following week.
Their campaign began to receive public attention in November last year when Denny shared a digital poster. As seen on Sejuta Kacamata’s official Instagram account, @sejuta_kacamata, the poster has a photo of an old lady who was one of their recipients.
“The photo went viral and then put us in the spotlight. I wanted to use the opportunity to spread a wider campaign,” he said, mentioning their current campaign, which calls on presidential and vice-presidential candidates to donate their spectacles or sunglasses.
“Their glasses will be used to raise people’s awareness about the health of our vision. We’ll exhibit them in a ‘Glasses Wall of Fame’,” he said.
Still on @sejuta_kacamata’s feed, among its 182 posts, were copies of letters that came along with packages of spectacle donations. One of them was from fifth-grader Syafa.
“I hope the glasses I donate will be useful for another person. I hope Pak Denny and all volunteers stay healthy and keep spreading happiness to others,” she wrote.
At the bottom of her letter, Syafa drew caricatures of her mother along with a man, who appeared to be her father, and herself who also wore glasses.
Another interesting letter was from donors who identified themselves only as FW and GC from Malang, East Java.
“As persons with myopia [nearsightedness] ourselves, we really know the importance of glasses in conducting our daily activities,” they wrote.
Pesan dari salah satu pengirim paket kacamata.
A post shared by Sejuta Kacamata (@sejuta_kacamata) on
They ended their letter with a quotation from Hellen Keller: “Of all of the senses, sight must be the most delightful.”
