Winners of student bursary Africa-bound

An optometry student and an ABDO distance learning student have been awarded Irvine Aitchison bursaries and will join a Vision Aid Overseas project visiting Africa this summer.The Irvine Aitchison Memorial Fund, in conjunction with VAO, annually offers two bursaries of £750 each, to dispensing or optometric students who will have completed their second year at college, to join an African trip. The fund is a registered charity founded in memory of the first chairman of the Society of Opticians, one of the constituent bodies of FODO.Brian McKeon, 21, from Northern Ireland, is in his third year of the optometry degree course at Glasgow Caledonian University and is the other bursary award winner. ÔIÕm looking forward to the VAO project as an excellent opportunity to see another field in optometry, with travel an added bonus,Õ he said.ÔIÕll be able to use my skills and build on them with help from more experienced participants,Õ he added.Bernadette Kenny, 19, from Birmingham, who is currently in the final year of her studies to qualify as a dispensing optician by distance learning, will also join a VAO project as a bursary award winner. ÔCurrently I have a lot of personal job satisfaction from the knowledge I am gaining,Õ she said, Ôand I can think of no more worthwhile way of putting something back into the world of optics than to take part in the VAO programme.ÕMike Barton, chairman of the trustees of the fund, said: ÔThe entries this year were of a very high standard and reflect well on the people attracted to work in optics.Õ