Good morning.

Let me start by thanking each and every one of you for coming out to participate in this annual walk in support of World Sight Day. Many of you had to get up earlier than usual on a Sunday morning to be here, and I am truly heartened by your dedication to the Association and to its work.

Today, we came together and walked to shine the spotlight on the eye and vision health of this country’s most precious assets—our children. We came together to do this because, like with so many other things in this life, we know that good things and good habits often start from young. What we did today is reinforce the message that ‘eye and vision’ issues are often able to be treated, corrected and sometimes even cured, if discovered early. The research tell us that early vision-correction enhances children’s cognitive abilities, educational success, mental health and overall quality of life. And so, what we did today is a good and an important thing. Today, we showed up for our children.

Having showed up for them today, what we also need to do, is to help our children learn how to show up for themselves, where their eye care is concerned. My dear children, let me speak directly to you for a minute – you have a very important part to play in promoting your own eye and vision health, and your own actions can make a world of difference. World Sight Day this year is all about encouraging you to love and care for your eyes, not just today, but every day. We know it’s not easy, but we, the adults in your lives, encourage you to make a commitment, today, to tear yourselves away from your phones and your tablets and your computer screens a bit, and take a break from them for at least five minutes every hour. This simple step will help improve the health of your eyes tremendously. Commit to spending a little more time outdoors, playing sports, engaging with your friends, or maybe just enjoying nature. The point is, that the less time you spend scrolling, the lower your chances of developing eye problems such as myopia – or near-sightedness.

We also want to encourage you to show up for yourselves at school. For example, if you realize that you are struggling to see or if it is hard to read the board at school, don’t hesitate to speak up and let your teacher, your parents or your guardians know. Your vision is incredibly important to your wellbeing, so make every effort to prioritise it.

And now, let me address all of the good and dedicated people who, by your presence here today have demonstrated their commitment to being advocates for eye and vision health. Now that we have successfully completed this year’s Walk for Sight, let us now carry this momentum forward and ensure that we continue to prioritise eye and vision health in our daily lives.

Most of all, permit me to express my deep gratitude for, and my enormous admiration of, the members of the Trinidad and Tobago Blind Welfare Association and their supporters. Your tireless efforts in raising awareness about vision impairment and blindness have improved the lives of countless people. This year marks 110 years of your remarkable work and I applaud you and our nation thanks you for your invaluable contributions.

Let me end by thanking each and every one of you who came out to support this walk today – for your commitment, advocacy and action in prioritising eye health and giving our nation’s children the opportunity to love their eyes.

May God bless you all and may God Bless our country.

Thank you