Christmas came early to a few employees at Ocean Sole and we are delighted to always be there for our employees, especially during this time of COVID and the pandemic, when all of our financial resources have been stretched.

A few weeks ago, we partnered with Lapaire Glasses, a social enterprise based here in Kenya that is bringing sight to Kenyans that need glasses or eye correction. At Ocean Sole, we go out of our way to ensure the health and safety of our employees is forefront in our ethos and when they called to tell us about their services, we jumped on the opportunity to bring some solutions to our employees.

We learned so much about the lack of eye solutions in Africa. When Lapaire called us to discuss their mission and accomplishments, we knew immediately our employees would benefit with a proper eye examination and check who needed glasses.

Did you know? As we had NO idea the magnitude of the problem….

• The New York Times says eyeglasses is “ the biggest health crisis you’ve never heard of”

• According to the BCG: “33% of the world’s working population has uncorrected vision problems that impact productivity”

• According to the WHO: “Eyeglasses increase productivity by 35%”

• Did you know, according to the WHO, over 1.5 million people, Kenyans suffer from uncorrected poor vision? A major risk for general and work safety and overall lifestyle.

• Across the Africa continent, over 550M people need eyeglasses, yet less than 1% own a pair. Lapaire, is on a mission to help those in high impact communities and in rural areas get access to proper eyesight.

It was a fun exercise and insightful, as most employees had never had an eye exam before and were quite nervous it would hurt. We demonstrated how it would work and the benefits of sight improvement.

We tested each of our employee’s eyes with a Lapaire technician, who also conducted training and provided advice on simple exercises that our staff members can perform to keep their eyes healthy. We also encouraged our staff to take their new knowledge home to their families.

The examination and engagement took three easy steps:

1. We had a trained ophthalmologist come to our workshop
2. A technician guides employees through a vision test and some training
3. We fitted eyeglasses to those that need them.

At the end of the examination, Ocean Sole purchased 35 pairs of eyeglasses for our employees. Some of whom never thought they needed glasses!!! It was such a joy to see them excited to be able to see properly. Some of our staff need further investigation into some potential eye damage, but we are supporting them through that process.

Some of the feedback we received from our delighted employees:

“Being short-sighted, I constantly need to wear glasses. With the current pandemic, I was unable to get myself a new pair, my old ones were not strong enough, and I couldn't see well with them. Ocean Sole stepped in and got me a new pair!! I'm so excited!! Thank you, Ocean Sole!

#christmascomesearlywithOceanSole!!!” Carol Khlima

“OMG, this Christmas came early for me! Mines were all scratched, and now I have a brand new pair!” Joe Mwakiremba.

“Having had no prior knowledge that I had an eyesight problem, reading was such a challenge and I was always tripping on rough surfaces. With these new glasses I now see with much more clearly and, read a whole lot better and I have confidence as I walk, even in the dark! I also look super cool!” Esther Mutheu Mulwaa

If you are in Kenya and interested in getting your employee’s eyes test we would highly recommend Lapaire Glasses. You can visit their website here https://www.lapaireglasses.com/

Thank you Lapaire Glasses from all of us at Ocean Sole.

Wanna know how we spent a week at The Lamu Archipelago, checkout our recent blog and share your feedback.