Children's Learning Achievement Often Hindered by Eye Health Access
Visual impairment remains a health problem that is often overlooked, particularly in school-age children. The ability to see properly significantly affects the learning process, concentration, and a child’s development within an educational environment. Limited access to eye care services, along with the cost of examinations and purchasing glasses, are challenges still faced by some communities. As a result, many vision problems are only detected when the condition is already severe and begins to affect daily activities.
As part of efforts to improve public access to health services, PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN), a Gas Subholding of Pertamina, organised a free eye examination and glasses distribution programme for 300 beneficiaries from schools and communities around the company’s operational areas. The activity, held at PGN’s Head Office in Jakarta, is part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme called CAKRA (Health Check for the People) and marks PGN’s 61st anniversary celebrations.
Examinations uncovered several vision disorder cases requiring special attention. One student was found to have severe myopia, with a prescription of minus 17, while another participant had vision problems in one eye. There was also a student who had been wearing glasses with a minus 1 prescription, but after examination, it was discovered their vision had deteriorated to minus 6. These findings indicate that some members of the public still lack routine eye examinations or vision aids that match their current condition.
PGN’s Corporate Secretary, Fajriyah Usman, stated that the programme is part of the company’s commitment to helping improve the quality of life for communities, especially school-age children. She noted that eye health is a crucial aspect that directly influences learning abilities and daily activities. ‘From today’s screening results, we see there are still many children experiencing quite serious vision problems who have not received adequate treatment due to financial constraints. This condition can certainly affect their learning process and quality of life. Therefore, we hope the glasses provided can help them learn more comfortably and with greater confidence,’ Fajriyah said.
She explained that the eye examination and free glasses programme is part of a broader series of health services under the CAKRA programme. Previously, PGN had also conducted basic health checks for communities in three of its operational regions, reaching 500 people in SOR I, 560 in SOR II, and 550 in SOR III, bringing the total number of basic health service beneficiaries reached through the programme to 1,610 people. ‘Through this programme, we hope to help improve the community’s health standards while raising awareness about the importance of regular health check-ups,’ Fajriyah added.
The Head of SDN Cideng 7, Ratna Suminar, expressed appreciation for the programme, stating it helped students who had not received optimal access to eye health checks due to their families’ economic limitations. ‘We are very grateful to PGN for organising this programme. For some students and parents, eye examinations or purchasing glasses are not easy because they require significant costs. Through this programme, children can learn about their eye health condition and receive suitable glasses so they can study more comfortably and optimally at school,’ said Ratna.
A similar sentiment was shared by the Head of the Al Mubarok Foundation, Henny Setiyani. She felt the programme greatly assists people with limited access to eye health services. ‘This programme is very helpful because it provides a solution where the benefits are directly felt by the students and their families. We saw very high enthusiasm from participants and hope activities like this can continue so that more children can be helped,’ Henny stated. Through this programme, PGN hopes to boost public awareness of the importance of eye health while helping more children gain a more comfortable and optimal learning experience through better access to health services.