TrueVisions and Metta Phacharak (Wat Rai Khing) Hospital, yesterday launched a renewed Wan Kaew (eye glasses) Project.

It aims to give better sight to more than 70,000 rural people to commemorate His Majesty the King's 80th birthday later this year.

The campaign, which is a tribute to His Majesty's projects to give better sight and a better life to rural people, is also supported by the Public Health Ministry, the Nation Multimedia Group, the Magazine Association of Thailand, Major Cineplex and Better Vision Group.

Miss Universe 2005, Natalie Glebova, is the project's special ambassador.

The Wan Kaew Project was first established in 2003 to assist underprivileged people with eyesight disorders, parti-cularly the elderly and children.

It was created then to mark the 48th birthday of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

Since then, there has been a warm response from the public and private business to the

continuing activities of the Wan Kaew Project, including donations of spectacles, lenses and money.

Nearly 100 mobile optometry units have now been set up throughout the country for the renewed Wan Kaew Project.

They are expected to provide free vision tests and eye glasses to more than 70,000 rural peo-ple.

Egat's deputy governor for administration, Apichart Dilogsopon, said his organisation, which initiated the first Wan Kaew Project, realised that vision problems could affect the quality of life of underprivileged children and poor people if they could not get proper treatment and assistance.

Significant cooperation between government and private sectors in campaigning and delivering both help and glasses has been supported by Egat from the beginning.

Better Vision Group's man-aging director, Pakee Prachaktham, said the project was in line with his company's policy of making a good contribution to society, and it added to other significant projects that follow His Majesty's sufficiency-economy philosophy.

As well as supporting the Wan Kaew Project, Better Vision Group also approached its brand ambassador, Natalie Glebova, to join the campaigning activities for poor and underprivileged people.

As a special ambassador of the Wan Kaew project, Glebova will participate in some of its major activities. She was present when the project's mobile optometry units took their first patients in Nakhon Ratchasima province last week.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation