Australian Funding Assistance Boosts Vision and Hearing Screenings for students throughout Fiji
26 May 2010
Australian government funding of A$150,000 to Project Heaven will assist the organisation in its efforts to continue to identify and remedy vision and hearing problems among Fiji’s school children.
Project Heaven conducts hearing and vision screening for students in both primary and secondary schools throughout Fiji.
The funding was announced by the Acting Australian High Commissioner, Ms Sarah Roberts, when she visited Project Heaven’s screening activities at Veiuto Primary School in Suva today.
Ms Roberts said the Australian funding, through AusAID, was in line with the priority the Australian government places on including development programs for people with a disability in its international development programs.
“Here in Fiji, Project Heaven has screened more than 340,000 children since it began its work in October 1998,” Ms Roberts said. “It’s heartening to note that through its work, Project Heaven has had a huge impact on enhancing the learning abilities of children with various hearing and vision problems.”
“The organisation’s efforts have ensured that children receive the proper treatment for their hearing and vision problems while remaining in mainstream schools,” she said.
Previously children with various vision and hearing problems were often sent to special schools which catered specifically for children with a disability.
The latest Australian funding follows a similar grant of F$33,000 which was provided to Project Heaven by the Australian government through the Fiji Red Cross in 2002.
The latest funding will assist Project Heaven with its operational costs including staff salaries, medical equipment, training and transportation.
The Australian government, through AusAID, also has programs in the area of strengthening eye health in Fiji through partnerships with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the Fiji Society for the Blind, the United Blind Persons of Fiji, the Fiji National Council of Disabled Persons and the International Council for the Education of People with Visual Impairment (ICEVI).
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