The 2024 tour dedicated to eye health by the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation Italy concludes in Ostia, having started in January with the stop in Catanzaro, covering eleven cities in twelve months. The initiative has provided sustainable access to eye examinations for the most disadvantaged people. The Foundation performs eye examinations free of charge, donating prescription glasses to those in need. The initiative is aimed at vulnerable people identified by local associations involved in the project. The stop on the Lazio coast, under the patronage of the Chamber of Deputies, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies, the Lazio Region, the Municipality of Rome, District X, takes place from November 27 to December 10 at the Casa dell’Amicizia in via Domenico Baffigo 7, provided by the Community of Sant’Egidio, the main partner in all the clinics and initiatives organized by the Foundation. The clinic was inaugurated in the presence of the President of District X Mario Falconi, the Social Policies Councillor of District X, Denise Lancia, the CEO of the Community of Sant’Egidio, Stefano Carmenati, the head of institutional relations of the Community of Sant’Egidio, Sergio Rivabene, Father Riccardo Mensuali, Rector of the Church of Santa Maria Stella Maris in Ostia, and Stefano Natali, coordinator for Ostia of the Community of Sant’Egidio. An eye clinic was set up with the technical equipment provided by Essilor for the occasion, thanks to which, with the support of important associations such as the Community of Sant’Egidio, Caritas, the Social Cooperative Society La Nuova Arca, Family Center, over 600 people will be examined. The choice of the city of Ostia highlights the importance of being present in an area where new poverty is unfortunately a very significant reality and is often depicted as a cinematic and folkloric set. The suburbs, in reality, present and amplify all the problems of the country Italy to which the Foundation tries to contribute by doing its part regarding the vision of the most vulnerable. For the occasion, some excellences of Roman ophthalmology have joined to form a highly professional and competent medical team: the team includes the collaboration of Dr. Domenico Schiano, IRCCS Fondazione G.B. Bietti, Prof. Leopoldo Spadea, Director of the “U.O.C. Ophthalmology – Eye Clinic” of Policlinico Umberto I in Rome, and Prof. Gianluca Manni, Head of the Glaucoma Treatment Program at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. Immediately after the medical examination, the opticians of GrandVision and Salmoiraghi & Viganò will identify the best visual solution based on the prescription. “We are once again happy to support the Vision Days,” says Stefano Carmenati, Administrator of the Community of Sant’Egidio. “In this difficult time of economic crisis, which sees a general impoverishment of many Italian families, there is really a need to promote solidarity networks that support those who are poorer and in difficulty. The right to health and care is a fundamental right that must always be made possible. Since October 2023, a permanent eye care station of the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation Italy has been present within the Health Hub managed by Sant’Egidio located in Trastevere in via di San Gallicano 25, a reality of concrete proximity to those who are more vulnerable. Only thanks to the collaboration of different realities can hope be returned to many and a better present be built.” “For us, the critical success factor is networking, building a solidarity network dedicated to the vision of the most disadvantaged people,” says Andrea Rendina, Secretary General of the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation Italy. “Our proposal, our initiatives are aimed at vision professionals, the third sector world, political and religious institutions, and consist of inviting them to network and realize them together, because without a systemic intervention, vulnerable people will increasingly be unable to access visits, exams, aids, and will inevitably see their lives and social inclusion capacity worsen, paradoxically with an increasing collective social cost. We consider it very important,” continues Rendina, “to have created and continue to develop a solidarity network that in its first two years of activity has seen the collaboration of over 600 ophthalmologists and orthoptists, hundreds of opticians, and nearly 900 volunteers. EssilorLuxottica together have conducted 14,000 visits and donated 31,000 glasses. This is our contribution so that more and more vulnerable people can access the fundamental right to good vision and therefore see better and live better. In 2024, the Vision Days have already made stops in Catanzaro, Florence, Trieste, Turin, Pescara, Cagliari, Caivano, Palermo, Milan, and Belluno. OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation. The OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation operates worldwide, bringing together the Group’s main advocacy and philanthropic actions and aggregating under one roof the long tradition of sustainable initiatives by Essilor and Luxottica. It is the largest foundation in the world dedicated to eye care, in terms of size and ability to make a difference, and aims to support the creation of sustainable eye care through philanthropy, working alongside key partners to translate the United Nations resolution “Vision for all” into action, contributing to eliminating visual defects affecting about 2.7 billion poor people worldwide by 2050. Since 2013, with the support of governments, NGOs, and a vast network of partners, the Foundation has provided permanent access to eye care to over 961 million people and provided glasses to over 84 million individuals. Many of them have discovered the benefits of vision correction for the first time in their lives. In the 2023-2025 period, it is expected to donate over 100 million pairs of glasses. Key associations involved in Ostia COMMUNITY OF SANT’EGIDIO: Founded in Rome in 1968 by then high school student Andrea Riccardi, the Community of Sant’Egidio is known worldwide for helping the poor, working for peace and dialogue, welcoming refugees with humanitarian corridors, and campaigning for rights, such as health in Africa and the abolition of the death penalty. Today Sant’Egidio is present in more than 70 countries worldwide with over 60,000 members, men and women of all ages and conditions united by voluntary and free commitment, and a wider circle of sympathizers and friends who actively collaborate in various initiatives (https://www.santegidio.org). CARITAS: Caritas Italiana is the pastoral body of the Italian Episcopal Conference responsible for promoting the testimony of charity, which means concrete love for others. The dimension of charity permeates and enriches the life of communities. For over 50 years, Caritas Italiana has accompanied diocesan Caritas with interventions supporting the testimony of men and women of good will, carried out “in forms appropriate to the times and needs” (art.1 of the Statute). Charity is not static but attentive to the journey of History and society. In the perspective of the testimony of charity, Caritas Italiana performs its pedagogical function, aimed at the integral development of man, social justice, and peace, with particular attention to the most vulnerable people and realities. FAMILY CENTER: Association born in Ostia to help families in need of home assistance (caregivers, nurses, physiotherapists, OSS). We collaborate with various professionals to best assist each type of patient. In addition, the association provides information and support to all family members who need guidance regarding bureaucratic practices related to disability/accompaniment and hospitalization in RSA and specialized structures.