The Masonic Community Award project intends to support research and treatments that specifically benefit the health of babies and young children.
Great news that @HantsMason @Masonic_Charity has awarded a grant of £6,000 to @unisouthampton for their Gift of Sight appeal research. pic.twitter.com/tEhLOs8luj
— Soton Uni Lodge (@SotonUniLodge) September 6, 2017
Jay Self, Associate Professor at Southampton University and Consultant Ophthalmologist, works with a team of clinicians, scientists and PhD students. Their goal is to treat children when they are young enough for their eyes to ‘learn to see’ as to prevent blindness in adult life.
There is a serious concern that poor vision can seriously impact children’s learning abilities in a classroom setting if the visual acuity is bad at seven years old. Studies suggest that these young patients may as a result suffer from behavioural problems and struggle with the desire to compete educationally.
Many children have already benefited from the treatment offered at Southampton Eye Unit. The equipment purchased with Gift of Sight funding has been essential in the progress towards improving diagnosis and creating more effective treatments.
Find out more about the work the Masonic Charity does here.
![Credit: Rafmarham [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons.](https://www.wessexscene.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/University_of_Southampton_Uni-link_interchange-252x167.jpg "Improvements on Campus to Cause The Closure of Highfield Interchange And Pedestrian Pathways in January")
