Marawi2020 : 20,000 Eye Glasses from Essilor Vision Foundation for Marawi

It was May of last year when the government forces clashed with the Maute group in Marawi. The clash displaced more than 300,000 people and the activity prompted the President to declare martial law in the whole of Mindanao. The 5-month-long armed conflict in Mindanao devastated the whole province. Many were forced to leave their homes and livelihood, a great number were wounded and lost their loved ones. Now that the battle is over, how will they start anew?

Rehabilitating Marawi will take months and maybe even years. In an effort to help restore the once beautiful and diversified communities, ESSILOR VISION FOUNDATION (EVF) and The Integrated Philippine Association of Optometrists, Inc, (IPAO), created an advocacy campaign called Marawi 2020 with the aim of bringing eye care to the people in need, and ultimately to give them hope for a brighter, clearer tomorrow.

Marawi 2020 campaign is one of the many programs spearheaded by EVF, the philanthropic arm of Essilor, world leader in opthalmic optics. EVF is committed to eliminating poor vision and its lifelong consequences, and to providing underprivileged people the opportunity to live a better life through better sight. Last year, EVF ASEAN also launched the Eye Can Succeed campaign in the Philippines, which helped over 10,000 senior high school students to perform better at school by providing free eye-check ups and prescription glasses to those in need. The foundation established in Singapore in 2014 also organizes charity events in neighboring ASEAN countries such as Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.

"In our own little way, we aim to help the people of Marawi find hope despite everything that happened. Through this advocacy campaign, we wish to boost people's confidence in seeing life more clearly, Better vision in life lets them know that it is never too late to start anew, to brush off the ashes and hope for a brighter future," shared Dr. Emelita Roleda, general manager of Essilor Philippines.

Working hand in hand with IPAO, they will provide residents with free eye checks and corrective glasses, if needed. Essilor pledged 20,000 eyeglasses to the residents of Marawi- a campaign that will run for two years-until 2020.

For more information about the Marawi 2020 advocacy campaign, visit Essilor's website at www.essilor.com.ph. Follow @EssilorPH on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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