Cape Town – Springbok captain Siya Kolisi took some time out to join eyewear company Oakley and the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation to commemorate World Sight Day, which is celebrated on October, 13 every year.
Oakley and the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation aim to eliminate uncorrected poor vision.
Kolisi, known for his heroics on the rugby field, implemented his skills off the field by teaming up with the two organisations to help with the work of improving the vision of young children.
They gave young people an opportunity to get their eyes tested and gave out free glasses.
“It’s really amazing. For a lot of kids, they can’t afford this. It’s important that people – no matter where you are in life, if you are able and have a platform and you have the resources – to go to the communities and help where you can,” Kolisi said during an interview with SA Rugby Magazine.
He added: “We keep on saying that kids are our future, but half of these kids are so smart but they can’t see.
“So, I’m grateful; so happy to be a part of this.”
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Speaking about finding time, despite his busy schedule, to give back to the community, Kolisi said that he tries not to use his platform for only himself.
“I want to make I don’t use this platform just for me, but I use it for others too.
“It’s people that buy the tickets every single day, and someone believed in me when I was that age so I want to make sure that I don’t forget that,” he said.
Kolisi said that he saw a child’s face light up after putting on glasses, and being able to see better.
“You can think of how many missed opportunities or how many people have missed opportunities because of that (poor eyesight).
“Kids who could have passed with high marks, but they just didn’t see,” he said.
World Sight Day is a global event that tries to draw attention to blindness and vision impairment.
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Compiled by Junaid Benjamin
