Millions of people in Zambia have been handed the gift of sight thanks to a marathon fundraising effort by Specsavers stores throughout the UK.

Until now, there has been very limited access to public eye care provision for the one in four people in Zambia who desperately require it.

Three million Zambians have visual difficulties, with 100,000 of those suffering from serious visual impairment.

But now, thanks to more than £300,000 raised by Specsavers staff and customers, a school for optometry has been built in the capital, Lusaka, and students have already begun training to become qualified optometrists.

Working with eyecare charity, Vision Aid Overseas, Specsavers raised enough money to fund not only the teaching facility, but also two vision centres in the country's Central and Luapula provinces.

Until now, there have been just a handful of trained optometrists serving the country's 12m population, meaning that those requiring vital eyecare have had to rely on volunteers and overseas aid.

The optometry teaching facility, officially opened by Specsavers founder Dame Mary Perkins, was named in her honour in recognition of Specsavers' support of the project.

She says: "This is a critical facility which will help transform the lives of people living in Zambia who have vision difficulties.

"During my time there I visited some of the outreach clinics to see for myself what an incredible difference an eye examination and a simple pair of glasses can make in someone's life, something we in the western world take very much for granted.

"For children, if you can't see well enough to read and write or see the blackboard at school, then your education is extremely hampered and if you can't see to work then you cannot support your family. This can mean the difference between life and death in rural communities. It really is as simple as that - properly prescribed spectacles hold the key to whether someone can see or not."

The race is now on for Specsavers stores to raise a further £300,000 to fund six more vision centres - one in each province of Zambia - by 2015, bringing the company closer to its mission to set-up a sustainable eyecare service for the entire country.

Gary Owen, store director at Specsavers on Dimond Street in Pembroke Dock, says: "As always, our store and the local community in Pembroke Dock are really getting behind this project. Almost a quarter of the 13 million Zambian population are somehow visually impaired, so we, Specsavers, really can't ignore the lifeline our business can provide."

Specsavers' Vision Aid overseas ambassador, broadcaster and journalist Fiona Phillips, accompanied Dame Mary to Zambia to celebrate the opening of the optometry training centre.

She said: "The first time I visited Zambia this centre was an empty plot of scrubland, so it is amazing to return just two years later to see our dream become reality.

"The students are so passionate about the right to sight in their country. The difference this facility and the provincial vision centres will make to the lives of the Zambian people is immeasurable."

The first 24 students have already been recruited to the optometry teaching centre with 11 beginning their training immediately.

Specsavers this week launches a Miles For Sight campaign in stores throughout the UK to raise enough money to fund the additional vision centres needed to make eyecare accessible for all in Zambia.

To donate to VAO via text message, text: EYES99 (followed by how much you want to donate') to 70070. For example to donate £1, text - EYES991, for £2, text - EYES992.