Stanford University

A Second Chance
Yang Wenqing at her first eye exam

Yang Wenqing, a fourth grader at Helong Primary School in Longzhou township, is described as sweet, but shy. So shy, in fact, that her teacher has never heard her speak in class.

Born in Yulin prefecture in China’s rural northwestern Shaanxi province, Yang is the daughter of migrant workers. Before she turned 5, her parents left Longzhou to find work in construction and housekeeping in Xi’an. Twice a year, they visit home to see Yang and encourage her to do better in school, but that has had little effect. Lately, Yang’s grades have been so poor that she wants to drop out of school entirely. With only a fifth grade education, her aunt is unable to help Yang catch up.

When Xiao Di, a volunteer with the REAP/OneSight ”Seeing is Learning“ project asked Yang about her vision, Yang whispered, “Sometimes I can see some shapes. Sometimes I can’t see anything at all.”

Having never had her eyesight checked, Yang thought it was normal. It was not until the REAP/OneSight team refracted her that they discovered Yang has severe myopia. She could not distinguish the largest letter on an eye chart 20 feet away--the same distance from her desk to the blackboard!

She could not distinguish the largest letter on an eye chart 20 feet away--the same distance from her desk to the blackboard!

“After she put on a pair of our trial glasses, I heard her gasp and with eyes as big as saucers, she slowly scanned the whole room,” describes Xiao. “After a few minutes, she looked down at the floor and sheepishly asked us, ‘Can I keep this?’”

Yang is likely not the only student in her class of 60 who is suffering from poor eyesight and struggling to keep up in school. Studies have shown that up to 30 percent of children in rural China have uncorrected vision. This means 17 other students in Yang's class are probably squinting at the same blackboard!

At the end of her eye exam, Yang told the optician that trying on the glasses has given her a new outlook on life. The next time her parents visit during the New Year, she hopes to show off not only a new pair of eyeglasses, but a new and improved report card as well.