91�Թ� student helps arrange free eye exams for Syrian refugees

ullahnor — Fri, 05 May 2017 18:54:46 +0000

ullahnor Fri, 05/05/2017 - 14:54

Cutline

The Malaks are a Syrian family who came to Canada after three years in a refugee camp. They received eye exams at the Kensington Eye Institute last weekend as part of a free clinic organized by a 91�Թ� student and faculty (photo courtesy of institute)

Jim Oldfield

Author legacy

Jim Oldfield

Topic

City & Culture

Syrian refugees

Cities

Faculty of Medicine

Clinic

Health

Students

Tarek Bin Yameen, a second-year student at 91�Թ�’s Faculty of Medicine, has helped organize clinics to provide free eye exams for more than 600 Syrian refugees across the GTA.

Last weekend, dozens of 91�Թ� medical students and faculty came to Kensington Eye Institute to provide free eye exams for Syrian refugees. Altogether, they saw 113 patients and identified many for followups – 28 for vision correction and 12 for referral to a specialist.

About half the families who attended arrived in Canada in the last few weeks, and many have never received eye care.

“There is a really high need in this population,” said Bin Yameen, whose family spent time in a refugee camp in Yemen before coming to Canada in 2001. “We’ve seen rates of visual impairment or disease of almost 35 per cent in our clinics, compared to less than 10 per cent in the general Canadian population.”

Dr. Myrna Lichter, Professor Sherif El-Defrawy, chair of ophthalmology and vision sciences, and Tarek Bin Yameen (photo courtesy of Kensington Eye Institute)

Clinic

91�Թ� student helps arrange free eye exams for Syrian refugees

Read more about Bin Yameen at 91�Թ� Magazine

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