In Canada, our colours lit up the skylines in Calgary, Winnipeg, Guelph and Toronto to raise awareness about eye health and the passing of the National Strategy for Eye Care Act, which will help make vision care a national priority.

In Ghana, our team participated in a media launch with Ghana Health Service, along with regional awareness activities, while in Kenya, the day was marked with an awareness march, the opening of a new eye clinic and various screening camps.

Throughout Bangladesh, India and Nepal we organized more than 20 screening and surgical outreach camps, and in Zambia we launched a new radio series about eye health and organized various school eye health screenings.

Each initiative brings us closer to a future where eye health is accessible to all. These events are more than moments; they’re movements towards lasting change in global eye health.

Dr. Chisanga Chelu, an ophthalmologist from Kabwe General Hospital in Zambia, discusses eye health in an hour-long program we are running on a local radio station in Kapiri Mposhi, Central Province. It was the first of a 13-week series in which listeners can learn more about eye health and call in with their questions. In areas where access to smartphones is limited, radio is an effective channel for sharing important eye health messages and encouraging people to seek care.

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Initially, he encountered skepticism from the community, as people feared medical interventions or had misconceptions. For many, fading vision was simply part of growing old.

To overcome these barriers, Robiroy put aside his medical charts and stepped into courtyards, looking to connect with people with warmth and empathy. Over cups of tea, he listened, shared stories, and spoke of restored sight as a path to dignity and independence.

Small victories soon blossomed. An elder who had received eye care could weave again. A farmer saw his fields clearly. Success stories spread across villages. Soon, Nongpoh Vision Centre saw patients surge, and 520 seniors received cataract surgeries. Families began prioritizing eye care across generations.

Currently, five of Robiroy’s 47 villages will soon be declared Avoidable Blindness-Free. He is not just restoring vision – he is sparking an eye care movement!

With files from Emmanuel Benia Tanti, Program Manager, India.

Did you know? Donations to Operation Eyesight help us train community health workers like Robiroy to deliver primary eye care in remote, rural and underserved communities. Donate today.

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Operation Eyesight is an international development organization and registered charity, founded in Calgary in 1963, that works to prevent blindness and restore sight in 11 countries across Africa, North America and South Asia. Work is supported by generous donors and a growing global community.

Globally, 1.1 billion people live with vision loss, which is projected to reach nearly 1.8 billion by 2050, costing the global economy an estimated $411 billion USD annually. Fortunately, 90 per cent of all vision loss is preventable or treatable. That’s where Operation Eyesight comes in.

With a global focus and a local approach, Operation Eyesight’s work is fueled by the belief that everyone should have access to quality, affordable eye health care, regardless of ability to pay, gender, age or location. People in low- and middle-income countries as well as in rural and remote communities everywhere are often underserved. Addressing avoidable vision loss for all helps people better secure quality education, employment, independence and opportunities. This helps people transform their lives – see Benjamin’s story to learn how. 

Operation Eyesight’s impact comes from facilitating locally driven solutions. In-country teams are on the ground, building partnerships with communities, ministries of heath and education, and like-minded organizations. This builds local eye health systems that communities run now and for generations to come – For All The World To See. 

Impact in 2024

Vision is about far more than sight – it is about reducing poverty, improving good health and well-being, supporting access to quality education, contributing to gender equality, ensuring clean water and sanitation, addressing climate action and building partnerships for the goals. These are all United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that will help to build a more peaceful and prosperous world for all. Through the support of its generous donors, Operation Eyesight has been contributing to building a more equitable world for more than six decades.

In 2024 alone, through local partnerships, Operation Eyesight screened 2.36 million people, performed more than 280,000 eye surgeries and distributed more than 270,000 pairs of prescription eyeglasses, while also declaring 233 villages Avoidable Blindness-Free. Read Operation Eyesight’s Annual Report to learn more. View 2024 highlights below.

About Operation Eyesight

Operation Eyesight Universal is an international development organization working to eliminate avoidable vision loss and bring quality eye health care to communities where it’s needed most.

Founded in Calgary, Canada in 1963, over the past six decades Operation Eyesight has grown to become a global community that spans four continents and includes health workers and volunteers, physicians and ophthalmic personnel, donors, partners, staff and board members.

Whether it’s a simple pair of eyeglasses or a more complex eye surgery, Operation Eyesight believes that everyone should have access to affordable, quality eye health care services. Operation Eyesight’s mission is to prevent blindness and restore sight – For All The World To See. 

Operation Eyesight exists due to the generosity of donors who have supported this work for more than 60 years.

Donate today to make a lasting impact.

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What nobody realized was that some of Zara’s actions – the eye-rolling, the strange movements – are typical self-stimulatory behaviours seen in some children with severe vision impairment. As a result of these behaviours, children like Zara are sometimes misdiagnosed with autism or developmental disabilities if their low vision continues to go unrecognized.

Fortunately for Zara, her school was included in a school eye screening project we had implemented in collaboration with our partner, Nepal Eye Hospital. During the screening, community health workers discovered that Zara had cataracts in both of her eyes, a condition she’d been born with and that had severely clouded her vision throughout her young life.

The outreach team met with Zara and her mother, explained the condition to them, and told them that treatment was available. They referred the family to the nearby Simara Vision Centre for a thorough examination, where doctors confirmed the diagnosis of congenital cataracts. From there, Zara received a further referral to Nepal Eye Hospital in Kathmandu for surgery.

The Operation Eyesight project team provided crucial support, guiding Zara and her parents through the treatment process and helping them access surgery at a reduced cost, making it affordable for the family, who had limited financial resources.

Zara’s first eye surgery was a success, and a month later she returned to the hospital for surgery on the second eye. On her second visit, when she spotted Operation Eyesight’s Project Coordinator from across the hospital, she waved enthusiastically – something that would not have been possible before her first surgery.

Zara’s transformation was profound. The eye rolling stopped, her unusual movements decreased, and she became more sociable with family and friends, even interacting withstrangers. For the first time in her life, she could recognize people from a distance, read the blackboard in class and fully participate in school activities.

Zara’s mother was overwhelmed with relief to see her daughter blossom. She had been extremely worried about her child’s future, and was amazed to see Zara playing, learning and interacting like other children her age. She and her family expressed deep gratitude to the hospital, the doctors and healthcare workers, and to Operation Eyesight’s generous donors, for making this life-changing transformation possible.

Make a donation to help us reach more children like Zara with life-changing eye surgery.

Written with files from Anisha Gurung, Operation Eyesight’s Project Coordinator at Nepal Eye Hospital.

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