ANTIGUA'S WORLD GLAUCOMA WEEK 2010 activities kicked off with a successful Cocktail Fundraiser at the Siboney Beach Club on Saturday Feb 27th despite heavy competition from many other events. The week is observed internationally from March 7th-13th this year and as usual is mostly spearheaded by the Antigua & Barbuda Glaucoma Support Group with assistance from service organisations such as the Lion's Club and the Boy Scouts, the Ministry of Health, the media and the local business community.
According to President, Dr. Jillia Bird, one of the group's earliest activities this year, is to assist Haiti to take part in the World Glaucoma Day activities. “We were moved by the willingness of the eye doctors on the ground there to take part in the observance in some minimal way despite the hardships they currently endure in simply living from day to day...as well as their graciousness and gratitude at any small act of assistance they receive. So the Antigua & Barbuda Glaucoma Support Group decided to donate some World Glaucoma Day banners to Haiti and are soliciting local and regional pharmaceutical companies to donate glaucoma and other eye medication to make up a World Glaucoma Day Haiti Care Package.Other highlights of the week of activities include the March for Sight on Saturday March 13th starting at 11:00am at the Lion's Den with a theme of "THE CARIBBEAN UNITING AGAINST THE SNEAK THIEF OF SIGHT".
It's shaping up to be a gala affair with several islands marching simultaneously and plans to combine video images of all the islands' marches into a mini-documentary. Pledged for Antigua's March already are: The Prime Minister, the Royal Police Force Band, the Salvation Army Band, the Girl Guides Marching Band, the Boy Scouts, the Lions Club, all the schools and groups that participated last year as well 12 stilt walkers and 200 orange helium balloons.
Antigua is assisting Montserrat with printing of T-shirts for their March for Sight even while they fight pyroclastic flows from the ever-active Soufriere Hills volcano. Trinidad, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia are all marching...St. Vincent is doing a blind cricket match in the intermission of the West Indies vs Zimbabwe One Day International Matches there on March 10th, 12th, World Glaucoma Day and 14th. West Indies Cricket Board has granted free space for a 24ft perimeter banner with a World Glaucoma Day message at the Cricket Test grounds in St. Vincent and hopefully to do the rounds of all cricket Test Grounds this month. Funds raised from the various Marches and other activities have been pledged to the ongoing Caribbean Optometrists Assn Haiti Relief Fund.