Organizations based across Canada who are making a difference and helping people see around the globe.

OPERATION EYESIGHT
Operation Eyesight’s commitment
to sustainable community-based eye care distinguishes us from the crowd. It is an innovation that, if adopted by other eye care organizations, may well be the key to eliminating avoidable blindness around the world. In the poorest regions, people know that losing their sight is like a death sentence. We have an opportunity to actually stamp out that threat for millions of people. We work closely with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), the organization that coordinates activities among dozens of eye care organizations from many di erent countries. This active participation in the international eye care community has given us an alli- ance with the best minds in the eld (leading to the organization’s current approach) as well as a bird’s-eye view of what’s working and what isn’t among various approaches to eye care. www.operationeyesight.com

SEVA
Each year, Seva-supported programs provide hundreds of thousands of people in the developing world with access to eye care. By focusing on sustainable, community-driven projects that reach the most underserved populations, Seva helps communities establish life-changing eye care services that help people now and in the future. www.seva.ca
ORBIS
A mobile teaching hospital with a fully equipped hospital onboard an airplane, doctors trained in the latest ophthalmic techniques, including pediatric ophthalmology, bringing their surgical knowledge and skills to doctors in developing countries through hands- on training and lectures.
A grant from USAID and funds from private donors enabled us to success- fully convert a DC-8 plane into a fully functional teaching eye hospital. As replacement parts for the original DC-8 plane became more di cult and expensive to obtain, it became clear that a newer, larger aircraft was needed. In 1992, after a major fundraising appeal, we purchased a wide-body DC-10 to replace the DC-8. http://can.orbis.org
THE FOUNDATION FIGHTING BLINDNESS
The Foundation Fighting Blindness mission is to lead the ght against blindness by advancing retinal disease research, education and public aware- ness, and ultimately restore hope
and sight.
With the support of donors, the Foundation Fighting Blindness has invested $28.4 million to support vision research across Canada, since 1974. That’s over 200 research grants that have led to over 600 new discov- eries in exciting areas of study like: stem cell research, neuroprotective therapies, technological developments, pharmaceuticals and gene therapies. All research supports our goal of understanding why vision loss occurs, how it can be slowed or stopped, and how sight can be restored.
The foundation represents hundreds of volunteers, thousands of individuals and families a ected by retinal eye diseases and scores of Canadian scientists seeking cures for blindness. www.ffb.ca