Photo: MASH group.
This year we were proud to once again be a part of the MASH (Māori Achieving Success in Health) programme organised by the Whakapiki Ake Project team. A total of 60 Māori students with an interest in a career in health visited our school over the course of two days. The theme for this year’s MASH programme was diabetes so our activities revolved around the effect of diabetes on vision and eye health.
The highlight for the students was using virtual reality glasses to simulate visual impairment caused by diabetes as well as other eye diseases. The overall feedback was positive with students saying that MASH has helped them develop a better understanding about both diabetes and the Optometry profession.
Two scholarships (He Rau Aroha) are available for up to $10,000 per annum each for the Bachelor of Optometry. We hope that Māori and Pacific students will take up the opportunity to work towards improving eye health outcomes in the community through studying for a career in Optometry.