No matter the size of the stone, the impact spreads in widening circles.  

The same is true in international development and eye health care. 

How the ripple effect shaped our work in 2025 

Every gift of sight creates ripples that transform lives. For girls and boys, women and men, restored sight opens doors to education, employment and independence. Those benefits don’t stop there – they carry on, extending through families, communities and even the global economy: Vision loss costs an estimated US $411 billion in lost productivity each year, according to a 2021 article in The Lancelet Global Health Journal. 

In 2025, your support meant everything. It was a year when the “pool of water” was anything but still. Yet our global community came together. Your collective generosity created nothing short of seismic waves of impact across 10 countries. 

Every year, your support empowers our teams and partners to screen millions of people, provide hundreds of thousands of those with vision loss with prescription eyeglasses and perform hundreds of thousands of cataract surgeries (2025 data and details will be shared in our 2025 annual report). 

Thank you for standing in solidarity with us, with communities, and with our teams and partners around the world – For All the World to See! 

2025 Highlights 

Here are some of our 2025 milestones and accomplishments that were achieved thanks to your support.  

Global  

Impact recognition 

For the eighth consecutive year, Operation Eyesight was named a Top 10 Impact Charity by Charity Intelligence Canada. 

Growing global reach

We doubled traffic to our global website, raising awareness about the importance of eye health and how it impacts lives, communities and countries.

Cataract surgery success

With your support, we raised $410,000 CAD for our nine-country cataract surgery initiative, surpassing our $405,000 goal. This will fund an additional 5,400 cataract surgeries, some of which are already underway. For each country, this means the following additional cataract surgeries:

• 400 in each of Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Liberia, Malawi and Nepal
• 1,000 in Ghana
• 900 in India
• 800 in Kenya
• 700 in Zambia

Why it matters: Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide. One surgery, including supports such as travel, costs approximately $75 CAD. Cataract surgery is one of the most cost-effective health interventions, according to the IAPB Vision Atlas.

Saidur’s story shows how cataract surgery changes lives. At 70, Saidur, from Bangladesh, was nearly blind and unable to work. After cataract surgery, he said, “I am very happy to be able to see my grandchildren. I can finally earn a living again.”  Watch his ripple effect story.

Africa

Ethiopia

A World Sight Day school eye health initiative led to the screening of 1,200 students in Bahir Dar City. Students in need also received free prescription eyeglasses.

Amanuel, Bereket and Amen pose after getting their eyes screened at school leading up to World Sight Day.

Ghana

We expanded our School Eye Health Program to Shai Osu Doku district. Program Coordinator Isaac Baffoe has been working closely with schools to reach even more children. See how the program works and how it helps students access quality education.

Kenya

With new funding from Johnson & Johnson, we launched our Hospital-Based Community Eye Health Model in four underserved counties. Tens of thousands of people have already participated in door-to-door screenings, and more than 2,000 cataract surgeries will be performed. See how this project brings eye health care closer to home in rural areas.

Malawi

We opened our first vision centre in Malawi, greatly reducing travel for patients and improving access to care.

Our Malawi team and partners attend the opening of the new vision centre, which will serve more than 256,000 people.

Zambia

We rehabilitated 72 boreholes, exceeding our target of 69 and improving access to clean water for more than 50,000 people.

Community members gather water at a borehole in Zambia.

North America

Canada

• In April, we partnered with the Maskwacîs Education Schools Commission and the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation to deliver a weeklong vision care clinic. More than 400 students received eye exams, and many received prescription eyeglasses.

Caption: A child has his eyes screened during a weeklong vision care clinic conducted in partnership with Maskwacîs Education Schools Commission and the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation.

In June, we participated in the Rotary International Convention in Calgary. Since the early 1980s, 474 Rotary clubs have contributed $3.88 million, not including direct grants to our partners. Since 2020, 23 clubs have made more than 3,100 gifts, totaling $748,565.

Members of our team connected with hundreds of Rotary club members and attendees at the Rotary International Convention in Calgary in June. 

On World Sight Day, October 9, Kris Kelm, our Global Director, International Programs and Chair of the Canadian Eye Health Coalition, hosted a global webinar, and landmarks across Canada lit up in our brand colours to raise awareness.

The Calgary Tower (see below) lit up in orange and blue, our brand colours, for World Sight Day to raise awareness of the importance of eye health care. The CN Tower, Guelph Market Square and Winnipeg Esplanade Riel Bridge also displayed our colours.

This fall, we celebrated Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, at events in Calgary and Toronto, and another in London, United Kingdom, strengthening connections with Indian diaspora communities and expanding support for our work in South Asia and around the world.

Members of our Canada team attend a Diwali event in Calgary.

In the week leading up to Giving Tuesday, December 2, through the collective support of donors, we surpassed our original target of $35,000 and raised $63,166.61 thanks to the dollar-for-dollar matching funds ($45,000) from our anonymous donors!  This resulted in a total of $108,266.61raisied to support additional cataract surgeries.

South Asia

Bangladesh

Leading up to World Sight Day, our partners screened 1,719 people, including 1,627 schoolchildren at 11 schools. A total of 183 people received free prescription eyeglasses.

A student has her eyes examined during a school eye heath screening in Bangladesh.

India

We renewed our partnership with the National Health Mission, Government of Madhya Pradesh, to strengthen eye health services across 10 districts. This marked a significant step in strengthening people-centred eye health systems across the state.

Anchored in the World Health Organization’s Integrated People-Centred Eye Care (IPEC) framework, the initiative delivers sustainable, community-focused eye care fully integrated into the public health system. Currently, we’re implementing IPEC interventions across 17 districts in Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya, in partnership with the state Ministries of Health. This work restores more than sight – it restores dignity, independence and livelihoods for entire communities.

Nepal

Our President and CEO Kashinath Bhoosnurmath attended the IAPB LIVE In Sight conference in Kathmandu, bringing together global leaders and policy-makers to advance universal eye health.

Thank you for your support. Full 2025 details and data will be shared in our 2025 Annual Report.

Make a ripple effect of your own.

Donate today to make a ripple in 2026.

The post 2025 Highlights: The Ripple Effect  appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Then her eyelids started turning inwards, causing more pain and irritation. She tried traditional remedies like plucking her eyelashes, but nothing helped. Her vision worsened over time.

One day, a community health worker came to Napolo’s doorstep to check on the family’s vision. Thanks to the primary eye care training we’d provided, the community health worker took one look at Napolo’s eyes and instantly knew what the problem was – a trachoma infection.

Trachoma is a bacterial eye disease that is a leading cause of blindness in areas with water shortages and crowded living conditions. The infection spreads easily through hands and clothing, and also through direct transmission by flies. If left untreated, trachoma forces the eyelid inward – like Napolo’s  – making the eyelashes rub painfully against the cornea. Over years, it can lead to permanent scarring and irreversible vision loss.  

The community health worker helped connect Napolo to our partner hospital for treatment. As Napolo was in the late stage of the disease, she required surgery. At our partner facility, the Talek Health Centre, she underwent an operation that corrected her inward-turned eyelids. The procedure brought her immense relief and preserved her remaining vision.

Stories like Napolo’s are an example of how we strive to address the root causes of avoidable blindness through a disease control approach. Our model helps us diagnose, treat and prevent the major causes of vision loss, including cataract, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, trachoma and uncorrected refractive error. 

Tackling trachoma through the SAFE strategy

Throughout Kenya, Ethiopia and Zambia, we’ve been working with communities and partners to eliminate trachoma through a four-step approach known as SAFE.

The SAFE acronym stands for:

• Surgery to treat trichiasis (the painful late stage of the disease)
• Antibiotics to eliminate infection
• Face washing and hygiene education
• Environmental improvement including wells and latrines

In Kenya, we work with government partners to distribute antibiotics to regions where trachoma is endemic. These antibiotics help prevent infection and can help clear up existing infections.

And because trachoma spreads quickly in areas where water is scarce, part of our approach is to make sure that people in our partner communities have access to a clean water source – by repairing and drilling water boreholes.

In the past couple years, we’ve focussed on training groups of local volunteers – called “Area Pump Minders” – in hand pump maintenance. That way, when a village borehole breaks down, someone in a nearby community will be around to fix it quickly. Throughout 2024, we hired on some of the Area Pump Minders we’d already trained to repair 129 boreholes – benefiting the nearly 130,000 thousand community members who depend on them.

Managing glaucoma one day at a time

Glaucoma is a tricky condition that often goes unnoticed until the damage is already done. Caused by increased pressure within the eye, it affects the optic nerve at the back of the eye, resulting in loss of nerve function and peripheral vision. 

This often occurs painlessly, making it hard to detect. And any vision loss caused is generally considered irreversible. But if glaucoma is diagnosed early enough, it can be treated and managed with eye drops and medication, as well as regular checkups.

Ayetu, a farmer in Ghana’s Central Region, first noticed that he was having problems with his vision several years ago. After visiting the hospital, where he got a diagnosis of glaucoma, he started using eye drops. But finances were tight, and he found it difficult to pay for the medicine and attend his monthly appointments. Eventually he gave up and turned to herbal remedies, and when he did, his vision worsened. 

In 2022, we started a community health project with the Winneba Municipal Hospital. Glaucoma patients with financial difficulties, like Ayetu, were told that their medication and appointments would be given free of charge – thanks to the generosity of donors.

When Ayetu found out he could get his medication once again, he felt enormous relief. He had worried about going totally blind, leaving his 75-year-old wife to manage the household on her own. Now, he says that the pain and tearing in his eyes has ceased, and the pressure has stabilized. “I was overwhelmed with gratitude when I started receiving these medications every month,” he says.

Retinopathy of Prematurity – a condition that robs children of their eyesight

Today, little Ayan and Vyan in India have a bright future ahead of them – but as infants, these twin girls narrowly escaped a life of blindness.

Born two months early in June 2022, the girls weighed just three pounds each and suffered from lung infections. They were rushed to a nearby Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in their city of Moradabad where they were stabilized. While there, the doctor treating the girls recommended that they undergo screening for Retinopathy of Prematurity, also known as ROP.

Retinopathy of Prematurity, as the name suggests, is a condition that can occur in preterm and low-birth-weight babies. It causes abnormal growth of the blood vessels that attach to the retina, which leads to later vision loss if left untreated. It’s difficult to detect, and in the worst case scenario it can cause a child to go suddenly, irreversibly blind.

Since 2022, we’ve been working closely with our partners at the C. L. Gupta Eye Institute to screen and treat preterm infants throughout Moradabad and its surrounding districts for ROP. The Retinopathy of Prematurity Eradication Project runs a fully-equipped mobile screening van. A highly trained optometrist makes rounds of all the local NICUs, screening babies for ROP, treating simple cases and referring more complex cases back to the base hospital.

Little Ayan and Vyan underwent screening, and both were diagnosed with severe ROP. At just five weeks old, they underwent eye injections, followed by laser treatment. Now, thanks to regular checkups, their condition has been addressed, and the little girls can live up to their full potential with their vision intact.

These twin girls are just two of many infants that have benefited from increased ROP screening in their community. In 2024, we expanded the program to 28 NICUs in five districts across the region, enabling us to screen an additional 1,500 infants for ROP and provide treatment for 400 of them.

Putting futures in focus with prescription eyeglasses

At just eight years old, Fassikaw in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia decided he’d had enough of school. His eyes were always watery, he couldn’t read the blackboard, he had to hold books just inches from his face and his grades were suffering as a result. He told his parents he wanted to quit.

His parents didn’t let him leave school, and when they heard about a school eye health program that was offering free diagnosis and eyeglasses to students, they jumped at the chance. They took Fassikaw to our partner hospital where they learned that he needed strong corrective glasses. Thanks to Partners in Education Ethiopia and our generous donors, he received the eyeglasses at no cost. Now that he can see, Fassikaw is finding school much more engaging, and his grades are on the rise.

What the little boy probably doesn’t know is that vision impairment like his prevents a lot of children around the world from finishing their schooling. In fact, children with vision loss are up to five times less likely to be enrolled in formal education in low-and middle-income countries, and a pair of glasses can reduce the odds of failing a class by as much as 44 per cent.

That’s why we help run school eye health programs, reaching children right where they need vision care the most – in the classroom. By training teachers and school health coordinators in primary eye care, we’re able to screen thousands of students in just days, quickly identifying those with possible vision loss for further referral. That way we can help more students like Fassikaw stay in school and thrive in life.

Adults, of course, also suffer from refractive errors, and sometimes providing a pair of reading glasses or prescription eyeglasses can change the course for an entire family. Take Junmoni’s story as an example. The mother of two in India helped support her family’s income by doing handloom weaving from her home. But as she got into her forties, she found it harder and harder to see the intricate patterns she was weaving. In despair, she was readying herself to sell off her handloom when she was surprised one day by a knock on the door. A visiting community health worker did a quick vision screening test and told Junmoni she likely just needed a pair of glasses. With a referral in hand, Junmoni visited one of our eye screening camps where she got a diagnosis and a pair of prescription bifocals all free of charge. Now she’s weaving again and saving up so she can send her young daughter to college.

We can provide eyeglasses to people like Junmoni and Fassikaw, with all associated expenses, for about $20 dollars apiece. In 2024, we distributed more than 270,000 pairs of eyeglasses – that’s a lot of lives transformed.

Addressing the global burden of cataracts

Across the world, more than 17 million people are blind due to cataracts, and cataracts cause another 34 million people moderate to severe vision impairment. But they are easily treated. A simple day surgery, one per eye – at the cost of about $75 Canadian dollars – can restore vision.

Despite that, millions around the world aren’t getting the surgery they need. The barriers are innumerable but usually include lack of financial resources to pay for the surgery, and lack of transportation to access the healthcare system. That’s why we work in rural, remote and underserved communities, identifying eye conditions like cataracts on people’s doorsteps and connecting them to the healthcare system – then ensuring that their treatments and transportation are subsidized or provided free of charge.

For someone like 85-year-old Esther in Kenya, a visit from a community health promoter made all the difference. Living in the remote village of Sitet, Esther struggled to get together the money just to visit the nearest hospital, let alone pay for the appointment.

About 10 years ago, when Esther was chopping wood, a log bounced up and hit her in the left eye. The pain was extreme, but she decided to wait and see what happened. A week later, in unbearable pain, she travelled to the hospital for help. There she received pain medication and a referral to an eye hospital. But by then, she was out of money. She went home and the vision in her left eye never recovered.

Three years ago, she started to notice the vision in her right eye was also fading. Soon, she could no longer manage her household, and her daughter had to move in with her.

 “She had to leave her home to stay with me and help,” says Esther, about her daughter. “At some point, I just wanted to die… I didn’t want to hold her back from her life.”

One day, hope arrived in the form of a community health promoter who knocked on Esther’s door. The health promoter referred her to an eye screening camp, where she was diagnosed and referred for cataract surgery on her right eye. Unfortunately, the damage to her left eye was irreversible, making treatment of her right eye even more essential. As part of our program, Esther’s transportation, appointments and surgeries were all paid for, thanks to the generosity of our donors and partner, Johnson & Johnson.  

Today, Esther is back to living independently – visiting friends, walking to church and picking and drying her own coffee beans.

Every year, the community health workers we train bring hope to thousands of seniors like Esther who once believed blindness was inevitable. In 2024 alone, community health workers helped us restore sight by making referrals for more than 230,000 cataract surgeries – giving people back their independence and dignity.

Seeing care through to the end

Our model offers patients the full continuum of care – from screening and diagnosis, through treatment, to follow-up. After surgery, our teams make home visits to check on healing, answer questions and make sure patients attend follow-up appointments. This helps us troubleshoot issues early and keep recovery on track.

For cataract patients, follow-up is especially important. When someone has cataracts in both eyes, we often schedule surgeries several weeks apart. That gap gives time for healing and reassessment, because the outcome of the first surgery can guide the second.

Eye surgery changes lives, but recovery looks different for everyone. By staying with patients through every step, we prevent complications, improve outcomes and build trust. When communities know we’re here for the long haul it makes our work more sustainable, with healthier futures for all.

Prevention is key to transforming lives

Vision loss doesn’t have to be inevitable. From Napolo in Kenya to Ayetu in Ghana and little Ayan and Vyan in India, these stories remind us that blindness can often be prevented or treated when care is accessible. Through community outreach, early diagnosis and partnerships that remove the financial and geographic barriers, we’re restoring sight and transforming lives. But the need is still great. Millions of people remain at risk simply because they lack access to basic eye care. Together – with continued support and collaboration – we can ensure that no one is left in the dark. Donate today to help us in our mission to prevent blindness and restore sight.

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In 2024, we launched two research initiatives to identify learnings and to share our findings. In partnership with the Pragyaan Sustainable Health Outcomes (PRASHO) Foundation we started an evaluation of the survey tools that we use and an assessment of our Avoidable Blindness-Free methodology and its effectiveness. We look forward to sharing our findings with you!

Award-winning presentations at VISION 2020: The Right to Sight – India conference

Our team contributed four presentations to the VISION 2020 The Right to Sight – India conference, which brought together organizations, hospitals, research institutes and others to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities across the eye health field. We submitted four presentations.

Senior Programme Manager Tapobrat Bhuyan and Programme Manager Emmanuel Benia Tanti presented. Programme Manager Aditya Sharma (left) brought home the award for Best Paper for Oral Presentation. Operation Eyesight was also honoured with an award as a founding member for its contributions to VISION 2020.

Recognized nationally and globally Our poster focusing on our donor-centric approach won second spot for Best Poster at The Right to Sight – India conference.

Above, our Head of Resource Mobilization Subhadip Bhattacharya (left) accepts the award. The poster was also selected to be featured at the 2024 IN SIGHT LIVE event organized by IAPB in Mexico City.

Did you know? We share our evidence-based learnings at international, national and state conferences and meetings to inform policies that support universal eye health care for all, particularly in remote and rural areas, which are underserved.

Learn more about our research and advocacy work here.

The post Research and advocacy in India appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

In 2010, Heeralal became a para medical ophthalmic assistant (PMOA) after the Government of Madhya Pradesh called for MPWs to undergo PMOA training. He conducted regular eye exams at CHC Niwas but was disheartened by having only two or three patients a day. He took part in school screenings and cataract camps as awareness grew.

In 2022, Heeralal saw a turning point when we launched our Integrated People-Centred Eye Care project in Singrauli. CHCs were upgraded to vision centres, equipped with slit lamps and essential ophthalmic tools. PMOAs received refresher training for comprehensive eye examinations to build eye care capacity. A series of targeted interventions rolled out. We trained community health officers, accredited social health activists (ASHAs) and community health volunteers (CHVs). Screening camps were organized with a mobile vision van to boost awareness. With support from ASHAs and CHVs, Heeralal soon saw 12 to 15 patients daily.

Today, Heeralal feels more inspired than ever by the transformation in rural healthcare. His motivation grows with every person whose sight is restored.

Did you know? Integrating eye care into universal health care is one of the five recommendations of the World Health Organization 2019 World Report on Vision.

Learn more about our work in India here.

Learn why we’re working to integrate eye health care into primary health care here.

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