Carla Ayres Musa, Deputy Director, BCVI
"BCVI was very happy to have our official handing over from the Lions Club to us for two projects that we've been working on together since about 2011. We've gone through the process of submitting proposals and having them reviewed and actually implementing them and we did the official handing over today."

"The first project that we worked on was a standard grant with Lions International and that allowed for the expansion of the facility that we are in right now. This use to be the outside space and people use to have to wait in the rain and in the sun and because BCVI and Lions have had a relationship over a few decades now, we have the same goal of preventing blindness and we thought that it would be great to team up with them because this is their building that we work out for us to be able to expand and offer more services. That was the first portion that we handed over today we were handed to."

"The other project is a "Sight First" project and this concentrates on diabetic retinopathy which we realize that BCVI is an increasing, very trouble-ly increasing problem that we have here, so along with Lions International again and local Lions we submitted a project proposal and it was approved and we were given funds to be able to purchase 3 potable fondas cameras, we also Ophthalmic unit, Tonometers, a laser so we can have a full national diabetic retinopathy screening and treatment program."

The upper flat will bring the computer lab together and provide an area for training and administrative support. The expansion was funded by Lions International which granted fifty six thousand, US dollars and BCVI which added twenty thousand US dollars. Funding for the Diabetic Screening and Treatment project was provided through a grant from Lions International Sight First Fund in the amount of three hundred thousand US dollars which covered equipment, renovations and eye health education and training.