Eye defects detected in 170,000 school children

by Ananda KANNANGARA

The Health Ministry last week warned school children in the country to be more careful about their vision because the latest statistics have revealed that four per cent of them suffer from various kinds of eye defects.

Deputy Director General (Public Health), Dr. Palitha Maheepala told the Junior Observer that not only school children, but also their parents must pay special attention to the numerous eye defects in their children.

He said out of 4.3 million school children in the country, over 170,000 are suffering from various eye defects and it is the duty of parents to identify such defects during the early stages and take remedial measures.

He said although it is not an easy task to find out the exact cause of eye problems in children in their early days, malnutrition has not been ruled out as one of the main reasons for such eye defects.Dr. Maheepala said the Government initiated `Vision-2020’ programme in 2000 to upgrade eye care facilities countrywide.

More than 7,000 spectacles are to be distributed among needy school children in Colombo and Kandy districts, under this programme.“We also conduct eye camps in schools very often and provide treatment as well as spectacles free of charge,” he said.

Dr. Maheepala was thankful to the private sector for the assistance given to this programme and said that his Ministry’s next aim is to expand the programme to Kalutara, Badulla and Gampaha districts within the next few months.He said similar programmes will be started in the Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi districts in the near future to cater to thousands of school children who were unable to benefit from this programme during the past several years.

May Day:

A significant day for the labour force

A significant day for the labour force dawns on Saturday, May 1 because it is a day where their grievances are generally aired via various rallies and parades held all over the country. Most of you would have seen these May Day parades held in our country in the past which are generally conducted by different political parties because the workers’ issues are something they often take up as a cause to fight for in Sri Lanka.

May Day is observed on a grand scale in many countries. May Day, otherwise known as International Workers’ Day, is a public holiday in most parts of the world and is celebrated annually on the first of the month. It is intended to be a celebration of the achievements of labour movements and workers’ unions.

The United States, however, marks Labour Day, in September but strangely the May Day which is observed today in many other countries traces its origin to the United States as it was events in the United States which prompted the very first International Workers’ Day commemorations.

The origins of International Workers’ Day: Chicago 1886.

In 1884, The Federation of Organised Trades and Labour was campaigning for a legal limit of eight working hours per day. At this time it was not uncommon for men to work sixteen hour days, and conditions were so dangerous that many people died at their workplace.

On May 1, 1886, employees in Chicago commenced a strike in support of an eight hour day. It began as a peaceful protest and almost one hundred-thousand men joined the strike. However, events took a turn three days later, when violence broke out at the McCormick Reaper Works, in Haymarket. Twelve protesters were shot dead by policemen. This resulted in a furore and in the escalating violence police also sustained casualties.

Within days of the Haymarket massacre a group of protest organisers were arrested and all, except one, were sentenced to death. Oscar Neebe was sentenced to15 years imprisonment, but he requested to be given the same fate as his fellow protesters, claiming that they were all equally innocent.