Durban — A Durban citizen was honoured for his contributions towards free health care.
Phumlani Dube, who founded the Phumlani Dube Foundation in 2017, said he was inspired to start the foundation following the death of his parents, due to illnesses related to old age and poor lifestyle choices.
The foundation is a registered non-profit organisation that exists to promote a healthy/active lifestyle and to encourage participation in sport.
A certificate of recognition from the South African Optometric Association (SAOA) was issued for his role in the optometry profession in South Africa. It is issued to persons who go beyond the call of duty to ensure the promotion of SAOA and the relevance of eye and vision care to the public at large.
Dube said that over the past six years, his foundation had touched the lives of thousands of people from marginalised backgrounds in KwaZulu-Natal through initiatives such as free vision screening and free health check programmes, as well as a fitness programme for senior citizens.
“The aim is to build a healthier South Africa, and I was fortunate to receive this award even though I am not a doctor or a health professional.
“I think it is a great honour to be recognised by SAOA, and it gives me a sense of fulfilment knowing that what we do as a foundation is getting noticed,” said Dube.
He said the foundation was filled with medical experts ranging from dentists to psychologists and neurologists. Dube said his first initiative, of health screenings, began in 2017 in Margaret Mncadi Avenue (formerly Victoria Embankment) on Mandela Day. After this, he decided to roll out these programmes to other parts of the city.
“As we continued with these projects for health care, we noticed that the longest queues were for optometrists and people with eye disorders,” said Dube.
He added that due to the high demand for eye care, the foundation started a separate programme to focus exclusively on this. This programme was rolled out in uMlazi and has also made its way to the Durban CBD, Cato Manor and KwaMashu.
“We conduct free eye tests for those who require visual screenings, people who need spectacles, and those who need cataract surgeries,” said Dube.
He made a request to the government to assist with this initiative as he believed it was a part of their mandate to aid with health care.
He said it was sad that no departments were assisting and that donations and contributions were all from other non-profit organisations.
In their vision statement, SAOA assumes the role of the custodian of the optometric professions, which addresses the interests and needs of members by way of advocacy programmes, professional development, the promotion of high ethical standards and support of its membership.
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