Eye Exams Seek to Improve Outlook for Rural Romanian Children

 

Dozens of Romanian children had their eyes examined for the first time in a rural area of the southern Carpathian Mountains in Romania.

Casa Buna, or good house, is a humanitarian¹ organization. It planned the eye exams in Nucsoara, an area with many villages.

Periodic² eye exams are suggested from as early as six months old. But many children in the poor, rural community had never been seen by an ophthalmologist, a doctor that specializes in eyes.

Mioara Marinescu was the volunteer ophthalmologist at last Saturday's event. She told The Associated Press, "out of 30 children tested, 20 needed glasses." She said that as many villages in the country as possible need events like this.

The importance of testing children's eyes is not limited to corrective eyewear. Amblyopia is the condition known as "lazy eye." It is when one eye becomes weak and no longer looks straight. It is estimated to affect one to five percent of children around the world. And missed cases can lead to problems in the future.

Marinescu found three children with amblyopia when she examined them. She said this disorder³ can restrict individuals from certain professions in adulthood⁴.

The eye doctor said, "in our country, children do not receive education or health equally."

Valeriu Nicolae founded Casa Buna in 2007. He comes from a poor Roma community himself. He said poor eyesight can have a serious, harmful effect on children's educational outcomes⁵.

"Teachers think the kids hate to read, but in fact, they hate to read because they cannot read because their eyesight is poor," Nicolae said. "Kids who cannot read because their eyes are really bad are useless in the educational process. They get fed up and they drop out."

The volunteer organization supports more than 300 children and their families. It most importantly believes in supporting children to follow education. The group has played a key part in helping⁶ children during the pandemic.

Casa Buna arrived in Nucsoara more than a year ago. The city is 200 kilometers northwest of the capital Bucharest. Volunteers visit every two weeks. They bring aid to 94 children and their families.

Nicolae said, "it was the start of the pandemic, and practically none of these kids had internet or computers. We put computers in all of their houses, made sure they have internet ... and all they need to stay online to continue their education."

Dozens of volunteers joined the eye testing event. Even motorcyclists, persons who rides a vehicle with two wheels, from the group Bikers for Humanity⁷ joined. The volunteers organized activities and games to bring in as many children as possible. Casa Buna also brought children's gifts for International Children's Day which took place on June 1.

Nicolae said, "we'll do (eye testing) this year in nine villages. We hope to make anywhere between 600 to 1,000 pairs of glasses." He has won international awards for his work to better children's education.

Romania has a population of more than 19 million people. It has the highest percentage of children at risk of becoming poor and socially rejected in the 27-country European Union. The European agency on data Eurostat found Romania's rate is 35.8 percent compared to an EU average of 22.5 percent.

Poor children are usually found in the country's rural communities. About 50 percent of children are poor in these areas.

Ophthalmologist Marinescu said that we should all have equal ability to have education and health care from the moment we are born. She believes it should not matter where we are born.

Words in This Story

dozen – n. a group of 12 people or things

volunteer – n. someone who does something without being forced to do it

glasses – n. eyeglasses with light metal frames and large lenses

lazy – adj. not liking⁸ to work hard or to be active

kid – n. a young person

fed up – adj. very tired of something: angry about something that has continued for a long time

practically – adv. almost or nearly

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

2 periodic   

adj.周期的，定期的，时而发生的

参考例句：

• Long long ago,we knew the periodic motion of a planet.很久以前，我们就知道行星的周期运动。
• These arrangements are subject to periodic reviews.这几项安排每隔一定时间须予复查。

3 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

4 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

5 outcomes   

结果( outcome的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The two scenarios provide illustrations of consistent set of outcomes for range of possible policies. 这两个方案说明某一套可能采取的政策将会产生的一系列后果。
• We analyzed all the possible outcomes of your mission, Commander. 我们分析过所有可能的结果，指挥官。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 humanity   

n.人类，[总称]人(性)，人道[pl.]人文学科

参考例句：

• Such an act is a disgrace to humanity.这种行为是人类的耻辱。
• We should treat animals with humanity.我们应该以仁慈之心对待动物。

8 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。