WOMEN taking part in the Coastrek walks on the Mornington Peninsula on Friday 24 May had a clear “vision” – to raise money to tackle blindness.
Demonstrating fitness and endurance, hundreds trekked 30 or 60 kilometres to raise money for the Fred Hollows Foundation.
The route from Cape Schanck to Point Nepean, or around Point Nepean, took in scenic coastlines, rugged clifftops, rough bush trails and thigh burning soft sand. Participants knew that their efforts were making a difference to those less fortunate.
The Fred Hollows Foundation estimates women make up 55 per cent of the world’s blind – and “four out of five of them don’t need to be”.
Blindness in women can be especially devastating – impacting their psychological wellbeing, ability to control their own choices, exposure to social discrimination and vulnerability to violence.
“If she can’t see, then she can’t work or feed her children,” the foundation says. “Blindness in women has far-reaching consequences, affecting her family and the wider community.”
Coastrek initiatives support Fred Hollows Foundation gender initiatives in 25 countries.
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 28 May 2019
