Apl.de.ap of hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas continues to inspire with his advocacies including curing blindness and visual impairments in the country.
Apl.de.ap, Allan Pineda Lindo in real life, was born clinically blind in Sapang Bato, Pampanga, and only got treatment for his eye condition in the United States through the Pearl S. Buck Foundation. These days, he is paying the goodwill forward by donating a retinal camera to a Pampanga hospital through a foundation of his own: The Apldeap Foundation.
According to Apl.de.ap, this is the second retinal camera his foundation has donated outside Manila.
“The Apldeap Foundation delivered our first retinal camera outside of Manila to Davos [Davao City]. And today we delivered our second one to the Jose B Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital Pampanga,” he shared to his fans on Feb. 19.
A week before, Apl.de.ap reminisced on social media about the first time they donated a retinal camera outside of Manila.
As per Apl.de.ap, the equipment is used to detect retinopathy of prematurity — a condition that leaves infants blind.
“As part of the Apl of My Eye campaign, it had been a goal of mine to bring forth modern day technology to help prevent people from suffering the same visual impairments that I have,” he wrote on Feb. 14.
He is also hopeful for the children in the future, adding, “Maybe one day, a kid from Sapang Bato won’t have to go through the same challenges I did.” (C. Cepeda/ra; Inq)