Clockwise from top: Jaguar Land Rover donates funds and materials as well as medical checkups and operations worth 2.4 million yuan to the Journey for Vision program in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region in 2023. Doctors from Tongren Hospital offer free eyesight checkups for local students in the autonomous region. JLR executives meet a girl who is to receive medical treatment.

Jaguar Land Rover kicked off its annual charity program on Aug 12 at Songshan Hospital in the city of Chifeng, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, to extend a hand to visually challenged local students.

Dedicated to providing a brighter future for underprivileged children, the 9-year-old program, called Journey for Vision, is part of the programs of the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation Jaguar Land Rover China Children & Youth Dream Fund.

Pan Qing, member of the board of management at JLR, president and CEO of JLR in China, said: "Over the past nine years, the Journey for Vision program under the Children& Youth Dream Fund has benefited a growing number of people, allowing them to better pursue their dreams.

"It has made us more convinced that undertaking our corporate social responsibility is a must-do for Jaguar Land Rover to implement its global strategy of Reimagine.

"There are no limits, no end for corporate social responsibility. We will continue our efforts with the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation and all walks of life to help build a bright future for the young in China," said Pan.

JLR is donating funds and materials as well as medical checkups and operations worth a total of 2.4 million yuan ($329,000) to the Journey for Vision program in Inner Mongolia this year.

In partnership with the Beijing Tongren Zhang Xiaolou Ophthalmology Charitable Foundation, doctors from Tongren Hospital, one of the best medical institutions that specializes in ophthalmology and otolaryngology, are invited to Inner Mongolia.

In the year to come, they will offer free eyesight checkups for up to 30,000 local students in the autonomous region. For 300 students who are found to be visually challenged they will provide surgery free of charge.

Lectures will be held to improve the understanding of local students and their parents about eye problems and up to 1,000 eye health kits will be handed over to prevent or slow down the development of myopia.

Also, 3-5 percent of school-age children across the country suffer from strabismus, a condition where the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at objects, according to statistics from Tongren Hospital.

If left untreated, the condition of the eyes can deteriorate, causing a harmful effect on vision.

Local health officials in Inner Mongolia said eyesight-related problems sit high on the list of the most common diseases in the autonomous region partially because of its long days of strong sunlight and the higher number of sunny days a year compared with other parts of the country.

Over the coming year, experts from Tongren Hospital will train local doctors in Inner Mongolia so that they can continue to provide local children with adequate treatment.

In addition, the carmaker will donate medical apparatus worth 1 million yuan to local medical institutions that are in urgent need of such equipment.

Song Jian, director of the CSCLF's Fund Department, said: "Youth is the hope of a nation and caring for them is one of the foundation's important missions.

"Via the Journey for Vision Inner Mongolia, we hope to help local students learn more about eye health and to join hands with all walks of life to improve local medical levels and allow them to have a bright future."

Besides doctors, some JLR owners have got involved. They drove a fleet of Defenders from Beijing to Inner Mongolia even before the program kicked off, helping to transport medical materials and driving some children across remote areas of the autonomous region to see doctors at Chifeng Songshan Hospital.

Cai Ying, a famous trumpet player and also JLR car owner, presented a concert on the steppe on Aug 12 with fellow musicians to encourage the young to explore the world and pursue their dreams.

In partnership with the CSCLF, JLR established the Children &Youth Dream Fund in 2014, which is committed to social development in the country.

Pan said: "Throughout the past nine years, we have always stayed true to our original aspirations. Looking back, we have been doing our best in each of our corporate social responsibility programs.

"With this long-term vision, Jaguar Land Rover hopes to unite people from all walks of life to help improve the living conditions of the young so that they can grow up healthily and happily."

Statistics show that the automaker has invested more than 30 million yuan in the Journey for Vision program, which has benefited around 300,000 children in nine provinces and autonomous regions in the country, ranging from Yunnan to Xinjiang.

lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn