Barcelona superstar and the person who has been dominating world headlines the last two weeks, Lionel Messi, is again in the news as he has linked up with Israel-based OrCam Technologies in a meaningful partnership that aims to increase awareness about blind people’s challenges, especially for the young.
Every year Messi will gift the device to blind or visually impaired people with inspiring stories and the latest recipient of the £4,200 Orcam glasses is 10-year old Mikey from London.
Messi has come to the aid of the young blind Arsenal fan after sending the child a life-changing pair of glasses produced by OrCam Technologies, which his parents say have helped give him a new lease of independence.
The enduring Barcelona superstar with a heart of gold has linked up with the Israel-based company to launch a partnership with them to increase awareness of the challenges faced by the blind and the visually-impaired community globally.
Every year, Messi will unfailingly gift the OrCam MyEye device to people with inspiring stories who are blind or visually impaired, some of whom he will personally meet in Barcelona. These individuals will then consequently become members of the so-called ‘OrCam Dream Team,’ which is led by Messi.
Before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Messi made it a personal quest to meet 12 visually-impaired individuals in Barcelona to give them their devices, thereby enabling to become part of the Messi ‘OrCam Dream Team’.
And the 33-year-old Argentina star admitted handing out the device was a particularly poignant moment for him.
On the meeting, he said:
“The emotion was incredible. Meeting with this amazing group of people from around the world was truly a magical and inspiring moment.
“Witnessing each of the members of the ‘Dream Team’ trying out the OrCam MyEye features, it was clear that this would be a life-changing device for each of them.
“I am proud to be an OrCam Ambassador to truly make a difference for so many.”
Approximately 300 million people worldwide suffer from blindness or varying degrees of visual impairment.