The Good Sight Good Life project, underwritten by onsemi and initiated by Orbis International, started in August of 2019 and was successfully completed in December of 2022. onsemi gave a multi-year grant of $147,795 for this project, one of the company’s largest contributions to date. During this time, the established vision center in Dong Nai Vietnam hosted over 80,000 people, screening 75,047 patients for refractive errors. 14,587 eyeglasses were prescribed, and 1,508 free eyeglasses were provided for students with disadvantaged circumstances.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 2.2 billion people have some type of vision impairment, with at least one billion of these cases preventable. In Vietnam, more than 36 million people are living with a vision impairment with an estimated 3 million of those affected being children. However, there are not enough refraction services to get people adequate care, especially in the Dong Nai Province, where onsemi has operations.
The Good Sight Good Life project aimed to bridge the gap between the significant number of people that need eye care and the lack of accessible services by establishing a vision center within the Dong Nai Provincial General Hospital, where children and elderly patients are provided eye examinations and refraction services.
“I’m pleased to see qualified refraction services available for communities in Dong Nai province through the establishment of a Vision Center at Dong Nai General Hospital,” said Pham Kim Ngoc, Country Director of Orbis Vietnam. “These achievements are not possible without the generous support from onsemi.”
On top of the screenings, exams and prescriptions, 177 teachers and school health staff were trained to administer vision screenings for a school-based campaign. A public-private partnership and referral network for refraction services among schools, hospitals, eye clinics and private optical shops was also established.
Teachers were trained to do vision pre-screenings for students at their schools.
Eleven-year-old Anh Thu suffered from myopia and astigmatism and received new eyeglasses as part of the project.
“I feel better doing anything on a daily basis,” said Thu. “The words on the board aren’t blurry now. I can see them all no matter where I sit. And I can even see the tiny number on the clock! I am truly grateful for Orbis, onsemi and their partners for providing us the opportunity to have eyecare.”
Thu giving a speech during glasses provision ceremony at a school in Dong Nai.
The Good Sight Good Life project was a part of onsemi’s Giving Now program. onsemi will continue its philanthropic efforts by issuing grants to eligible educational institutions and charitable organizations in the communities in which it operates. After going through a restructure, the Giving Now program nowhas three main priorities:
- Give to Donate: Match employee giving and support volunteerism for causes they care about most.
- Give to Educate: STEAM grants to help students in underserved communities achieve their dreams.
- Give to Help: Provide local disaster relief and revitalize communities after emergencies.
“Our Giving Now program is continuing to drive positivity by creating meaningful change for our planet and every community that we live and work in around the globe,” said Wendy Pham, human resources manager for Vietnam and global grant advisor at onsemi. “We’re grateful to have partnered with Orbis as a grantee to expand resources and efforts to promote good health and well-being by helping to prevent and treat blindness. Since 2016, onsemi has funded more than $9 million in grants, employee matching and dollars-for-doers for employee volunteerism.”
Orbis is an international non-profit that works with corporate partners and hospitals to provide communities with resources to treat vision impairment and fight blindness.
