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Clear Vision: Designers Team With Mexican Government to Give Free Glasses to Kids

by Colleen Egan (Subscribe to Colleen Egan's posts)
Apr 29th 2010 4:00PM

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Filed under: In The News

Sweet specs. Image courtesy of fuseproject


Kids who can't see properly don't do well in school, but disadvantaged kids can't afford glasses. And, in Mexico, kids who wear glasses are considered handicapped.

No problemo.

In Mexico, where half a million new children who need corrective eyeglasses enter the school system each year, a new program will help them see clearly. "See Better to Learn Better" will provide free, stylish glasses to underprivileged students aged 6 to 18 in the country, according to a press release. A collaboration between the Mexican government, industrial design firm fuseproject and Augen Optics, the goal of the program is to annually give away 300,000 pairs of glasses designed specifically for kids, free of charge, Fast Company reports.

Here's how it works: Local and visiting optometrists visit schools and test the children, then they order the glasses from a factory and, a few weeks later, the personalized glasses are delivered to students.


These aren't any ordinary glasses, either. The top and bottom of the frame is split, which makes it easier to place the lenses inside the frame without the usual (and expensive) heating process. The nearly unbreakable split frame is not only cheaper, but it allows kids to choose different colors for the top and bottom pieces, which makes for custom, stylish specs. Kids can choose from five different frames in three sizes and in seven different colors.

"Wearing glasses carries a huge stigma for Mexican kids," fuseproject founder Yves Behar tells Fast Company. "One organization tried to give the kids Harry Potter-style glasses, but they rejected them."

Fuseproject, which designed the One Laptop Per Child XO Laptop for the One Laptop Per Child foundation, partnered with Mexico-based Augen to manufacture the glasses, which was 50 percent less expensive than importing frames.

"This project follows our philosophy that design should continue to make a difference beyond the commercial world, and that nonprofits do need emotional appeal and efficient solutions just as much as for‐profit companies. Design can make a tremendous difference and we believe this is a responsibility that the industrial profession carries: to bring transformative solutions," Béhar says in a press release.

Related: Get Ready to Express Yourself in Madonna's New Juniors' Fashion Line

Tags: fuseproject, mexican goverment, MexicanGoverment, One laptop per child, OneLaptopPerChild

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