Sahela Sheik, the ophthalmic director at Charlton Riverside Specsavers has revealed her dreams of one day helping people in Bangladesh access careers in Optometry.

Sahela, whose family are from Sylhet in Bangladesh, studied Optometry at the University of Manchester which set her up for a successful career which recently saw her appointed as the ophthalmic director at the Charlton Riverside Specsavers.

With the support of Vision Aid Overseas, Sahela hopes to both help improve the eye health of people in Bangladesh, along with making careers in Optometry more accessible to young people.

The charity, which strives to enable people living in poverty to access affordable glasses and eye care, has set up 21 Vision Centres and has helped 89,300 people receive life-changing glasses since 2011.

Sahela said;

‘I’m fortunate enough to have had opportunities to get into a career like Optometry, however for many people, they’re not as lucky.

‘That’s why one day I hope to work with an organisation such as Vision Aid Overseas to help local people get the eye care they deserve while hopefully inspiring them into Optometry careers.

‘Eye care is something we take for granted in the UK, however, some countries are not as fortunate. It should be a basic human right which everyone has access to, and I’m hoping that throughout my career, I can play a vital part in making this happen.’

The Charlton Riverside Specsavers store has numerous safety measures in place, including restrictions on the number of customers allowed in store, social distancing and bank card instead of cash payments, where possible.

Specsavers’ colleagues use personal protective equipment (PPE) throughout the stores and frames are thoroughly sanitised before and after each use. Customers are also asked to request an appointment in advance.

Customers can visit the Charlton Riverside store at Sainsbury’s, 7 – 11 Gallions Road, Charlton, SE7 7SA, call 020 8293 0517 or go online at:

https://www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/charltonriversidesainsburys