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Simul Can Play

April 05, 2017

Four-year-old Simul has had a very difficult childhood. His mother and father left him when he was only a small baby, and he was raised by his grandmother. At an early age, he began to have difficulty seeing. His grandmother heard about an eye health outreach program happening in their town and took Simul to be examined.

Work for Us

August 29, 2017

We seek highly skilled, adventurous professionals who reflect the five Orbis values of Trust, Caring, Commitment, Accountability, and Excellence to join our team and help us explore new ways to expand the reaches of eye care in the developing world.

Meet Suhati

November 21, 2017

Yesterday marked Universal Children's Day – a moment to remember the rights of children such as access to healthcare, and education.

Asegedech Gets Her future Back

November 20, 2017

Asegedech lives n Ethiopia and for two years she suffered the pain and discomfort of the life-destroying eye disease, trachoma before she was reached by Orbis.

Flying Eye Hospital arrives in Bangladesh

November 17, 2017

The Flying Eye Hospital has arrived in Bangladesh on the final leg of its 2017 tour. Its goal – to raise awareness of the issue of childhood blindness and train local eye teams in the latest technological advancements.

Donner Canadian Foundation

November 03, 2017

BBC in Cameroon

October 13, 2017

The BBC World News released a segment on World Sight Day about our Flying Eye Hospital efforts in Cameroon. The segment covers a patient success story, our first ever use of virtual reality goggles and dives further into our work in Cameroon.

Orbis Completes Program in Cameroon

October 12, 2017

Over the last few weeks, Orbis's Flying Eye Hospital was in Cameroon, a country with one of the highest prevalence of blindness and visual impairment in the world.

World Sight Day Campaign

October 12, 2017

World Sight Day: new statistics highlight global inequalities

October 11, 2017

On World Sight Day 2017, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) have updated released the most up-to-date figures on the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment around the world.

Plane Pull for Sight 2018

October 04, 2017

Registration is now open for Plane Pull for Sight 2018.

Join us on the tarmac to save sight and support the world's only Flying Eye Hospital.

Orbis Helps Give Dieu "Brighter Eyes"

September 22, 2017

On the first day of our program in Can Tho, Vietnam, Toronto-based ophthalmologist, Dr. Asim Ali, met six-year old Dieu and changed her life forever.

DR. RISHI RAJ BORAH RECOGNIZED AS AN 2017 IAPB EYE HEALTH HERO

September 11, 2017

After a decade of work growing Orbis’s partnership network in India, Dr. Rishi Raj Borah has earned a spot on IAPB's 2017 list of Eye Health Heroes.

NUMBER OF BLIND PEOPLE SET TO TRIPLE BY 2050

August 15, 2017

New figures suggest the number of people who are blind globally could triple by 2050.

CNBC Features the Flying Eye Hospital

November 29, 2017

CNBC covered our Flying Eye Hospital in an online segment featuring a video and story.

Donate

August 10, 2017

New York Headquarters

July 31, 2017

Orbis's global strategy on Program, Fundraising, Communications, Human Resources and Finance stems from the New York Headquarters.

Donate

July 31, 2017

Contact Us

July 31, 2017

Orbis is a registered charity in Canada. Our fundraising and support office in Toronto provides vital funds and assistance towards our global commitment to eliminate avoidable blindness.

Financial Information

July 31, 2017

Corporate Partners

July 31, 2017

We are incredibly grateful to our corporate partners for their amazing support. Their contributions range from major multi-year cash grants to critically needed gifts-in-kind. Everyone listed on this page shares our long-term commitment to ending avoidable blindness throughout the world.

Orbis Canada Board of Directors

July 31, 2017

Orbis Leadership

July 31, 2017

Our History

July 31, 2017

About

July 31, 2017

We are an international NGO that brings people together to fight avoidable blindness. With our network of partners, we mentor, train and inspire local eye care teams to fight blindness in their own communities. We believe that no one should live a life of unnecessary blindness, simply because of where they were born.

News and Stories

July 31, 2017

Donate Stocks and Securities

July 31, 2017

Countess of Wessex Visits the Flying Eye Hospital

November 21, 2017

The Countess of Wessex visited the Flying Eye Hospital and our partner hospital - the Ispahani Islamia Eye Institute - during her tour of Bangladesh to help raise awareness of avoidable blindness.

David regained his sight and his scoring touch

December 05, 2017

It was almost too late for David. But thanks to your support, he received the necessary treatment before it was too late!

Become a Corporate Partner

July 31, 2017

Orbis is grateful to our corporate partners for their support.

International Nurses Day: A Cause Worth Celebrating

May 10, 2018

Every day it seems we are celebrating some kind of 'national' or 'international' day, whether it’s National Eraser Day, or International Wiggle Your Toes Day. But once in a while, there's a day that is truly worth honouring. Saturday, May 12 is International Nurses Day - a day when we thank nurses everywhere for all that they do.

Plane Pull for Sight Calgary Fundraising Soars

June 18, 2018

On Saturday, June 16, Plane Pull for Sight returned to Calgary, setting a new high for fundraising with over $37,700 (and counting) raised.

Orbis launches BOOST app in collaboration with partners

June 18, 2018

We are excited to announce the launch of a brand new app developed with some amazing partners designed to help measure, analyze and improve success rates in cataract surgery. The free app is a brilliant example of how the sector can come together and use the latest technology to help change the way the world sees.

Flying Eye Hospital Program wraps up in Barbados

June 11, 2018

The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital leaves Barbados after a successful two-week training program helping to improve eye care across the Caribbean.

Dr Elizabeth Castro

June 11, 2018

Technical Support Specialist, Alco Laboratories Inc. California.

Dr Alessia Adduci

June 11, 2018

Faculty Department of Anesthesia & Intensive Care, Catholic University of Rome

Dr Nathan Schwarts

June 11, 2018

Red Lion Surgery Center, Philadelphia

Dr Kakarla V. Chalam

June 11, 2018

Professor & Director of Retina, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, California.

Dr Rudy Wagner

June 11, 2018

Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Dr Michael Vrabec

June 11, 2018

Clinical Instructor of Ophthalmology

Dr Elethia Dean

June 11, 2018

Nursing Certification, Consultant, ASC Compliant LLC.

Dr William Dean

June 11, 2018

Clinical Research Fellow, International Center for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Plane Pull for Sight Toronto Sets a Record

May 28, 2018

On Sunday, May 27, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of Plane Pull for Sight Toronto by raising a record-breaking $88,409 (and counting) - the highest fundraising total in the history of the event!

yycchinatownleague

May 09, 2018

CNN step on board the Flying Eye Hospital

December 06, 2017

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta steps on board the our amazing Flying Eye Hospital during its recent visit to Cameroon. The three part series can be watched below. A big thanks to CNN and everyone who made the this possible.

Changing the way the world sees

April 17, 2018

Thanks to your support, we're always on the lookout for new ways to use technology to help build the skills of eye teams in communities around the world. By constantly innovating, we're able to reach more people - more efficiently - than ever before

Planned Giving

April 03, 2018

Make a Gift Today—Leave a Legacy for all our Tomorrows

Flying Eye Hospital lands in Peru

April 03, 2018

The Flying Eye Hospital has touched down in Trujillo, Peru, for a three-week training program to help strengthen the skills of eye teams all across the region.

Orbis Canada Plane Pull for Sight Celebrates 10th Anniversary in Toronto

March 29, 2018

The Orbis Canada Plane Pull for Sight celebrates its 10th anniversary in Toronto on Sunday, May 27, followed by events in Calgary on Saturday, June 16 and Vancouver on Sunday, June 24.

Orbis featured on CBS show 'The Doctors'

March 12, 2018

The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital and star Volunteer Faculty member, Rudy Wagner, have been featured on the daily talk show 'The Doctors'. Make sure to give it a watch and share it with your friends.

One Woman Changed the Way the Hospital Sees Quality and Management

March 07, 2018

In February 2018, Elaine and Jasmine from the Singapore office visited some program partners in India and Bangladesh. Here, Jasmine shares about one of our program partners in Kolkata, India.

Pullforsight.ca

February 15, 2018

Chief, Global Communications and Marketing - Louise Harris

February 14, 2018

Louise Harris joined Orbis International in 2017 and leads the organization’s marketing and communications strategies and programs.

General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer - Manu G. Nathan

February 14, 2018

Manu G. Nathan joined Orbis International in 2017 and manages the organization’s legal, compliance, and governance initiatives.

In photos: How Honorine is living life again after her eye surgery

January 31, 2018

Six weeks after a successful surgery on our Flying Eye Hospital to treat a painful cataract in her left eye, we paid a visit to see grandmother-of-four Honorine, 60, in Yaoundé, Cameroon, to find out how she was getting on.

How to fight blindness, poverty and gender inequality in Bangladesh

January 30, 2018

Thanks to our amazing supporters and our partnership with the Qatar Fund for Development and Qatar Creating Vision – we’re excited to tell you about the recently opened Singra Vision Center in Bangladesh .

Where Will We Go in 2018?

January 18, 2018

The Flying Eye Hospital crew is ready and excited for another exciting year on board our unique aircraft. In the upcoming 2018 year, we will be on three continents for a total of 15 weeks of training!

Volunteer

July 31, 2017

Volunteer your time and expertise to Orbis

Give Through Your Foundation

July 31, 2017

Foundations play a crucial role in helping Orbis bring people together to fight avoidable blindness.

Fighting Childhood Blindness in Vietnam

May 19, 2017

Alexandre can see again thanks to your support

June 27, 2017

Alexandre, a 77-year-old gentleman from Cameroon, had terrible luck with his eyesight. The first incident occurred 15 years ago while working as a builder, when he was struck in the left eye by a hammer. He visited a local hospital, where they tried to save his eye, but the surgery was unsuccessful.

Jebsen

July 27, 2017

Jebsen generously partners with Orbis to build up a training, screening and referring eye care network covering hospitals and clinics in the rural area of China.

Pfizer

July 27, 2017

The Pfizer-Orbis relationship dates back to 1979, three years before Orbis's first sight-saving flight, when Pfizer began supporting Orbis through cash grants and donations of medical supplies.

OMEGA

July 27, 2017

OMEGA announced its Global Corporate Partnership with Orbis in January 2011.

Fondation L’Occitane

July 27, 2017

With a long history of corporate social responsibility,Fondation L'OCCITANE is committed to fighting avoidable blindness around the world.

FedEx

July 26, 2017

For more than 30 years, FedEx has played an indispensable role in helping Orbis achieve its vision of a world in which no one is needlessly blind.

Your support helped Kingsley see again

July 26, 2017

Two-year-old Kingsley developed bilateral congenital cataracts shortly after birth. His mother noticed he had difficulty opening his eyes in daylight. She didn’t realize though that this was the result of a serious condition until he developed a white spot in his right eye at age one.

Alcon Foundation

July 26, 2017

Creating access to eye care for children like Sharmila

May 30, 2017

Limited access to quality eye care is a global issue that affects millions due to lack of transportation, inability to cover expenses or lack of education about where to receive help. Siblings Sharmila and Naveen were losing their sight due to severe cataracts, and the nearest hospital available for surgery was located in another city.

You've given Shunwen hope for a brighter future

July 26, 2017

Sporting a pink sweater and holding the hand of her legal guardian, seven-year-old Shunwen Wang smiles when spoken to and easily breaks into giggles. She exhibits the hallmark signs of having limited or distorted vision: eyes not responding to motion, yet darting erratically to track the location of sounds and voices in her immediate vicinity.

Changing a life with a pair of glasses: Tania's story

July 25, 2017

Tania is a 12 year old girl from a village in the Koyra sub-district of Khulna in Bangladesh. When she was only 22 days old, her father tragically passed away. Her mother remarried, leaving Tania behind to live with her grandmother.

Back to School for Maiyan

July 03, 2017

Twelve-year-old Maiyan and her family of nine live in the remote, mostly rural Gansu province of northwest China, one of the poorest Chinese provinces. From birth, Maiyan's left eye was misaligned. After being cruelly mocked by other children, Maiyan pleaded to stay home from school to avoid being bullied.

Braveman can play with his toys again

June 28, 2017

Braveman is a seven-year-old boy who lives with his parents and grandmother in KwaNyuswa, a semi-rural area just outside Pinetown in South Africa. Braveman was diagnosed with a squint when he was one year old, and although his road to recovery has been long, it hasn’t affected the lively little boy's sense of humour.

Canada homepage

June 26, 2017

UTC Aerospace Systems

July 27, 2017

UTC Aerospace Systems announced a $1 million contribution over three years to Orbis in 2017.

Erika & Adely now see a brighter future

June 26, 2017

Meet Erika & Adely, two patients from Peru who received the life-changing treatment they needed through an Orbis training program during a Flying Eye Hospital visit.

Pinki and her grandfather

June 23, 2017

It was Pinki’s grandfather who brought her to the Orbis-supported Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya Hospital in Chitrakoot, India – nine hours away from her family home.

Ajebush's teacher helps her see clearly

June 22, 2017

Thanks to your support and the help of Orbis's community outreach programs, Ajebush is now excelling at school in the Doyogena District of Ethiopia - but this wasn't always the case.

Duncan's Passion for Eye Health

June 19, 2017

Aylito gets her sight back

June 16, 2017

Aylito lives in Ethiopia and has been blind in one eye since the age of six. She suffered from trichiasis, a painful eye condition, that threatened sight in her other eye. Unaware of available treatment options, Aylito lived with the impending possibility of losing her vision completely and the fear of not being able to take care of her family.

Thank you for helping Nikhil find his voice

May 30, 2017

Nine-year-old Nikhil loves to sing. He is also excelling in school – but he wasn't always this way. Last year, Nikhil's mother, Leela, began noticing Nikhil's vision problems when he began holding his books close to his face to read and complaining that he couldn't see the blackboard in class.

Gladys struck in the eye with a stick

May 30, 2017

Back in school and back on the field

May 30, 2017

Muntare and her neighbors

May 30, 2017

Muntare is a respected and highly influential woman in her community but, for some time, has been leading a lonely and isolated life. Her husband passed away a few years ago and all of her children are now married.

Krish now has a future, thanks to you

May 30, 2017

Without your support, Krish would be blind today. Seven-year-old Krish began going blind the moment he was born. Cataracts threatened to resign him to a life of darkness and poverty in Nepal.

Your donations saved Jefferson's sight

May 30, 2017

Nine-year-old Jefferson suffered from strabismus, or a misalignment of his eyes, his entire life. Left untreated, he would go blind. Thanks to your donations, an Orbis-trained doctor at his local hospital was able to perform a surgery to correct the strabismus, giving Jefferson a new lease on life.

Racheal sees her mother for the first time

May 29, 2017

When Verah heard there was going to be an Orbis eye screening in Mansa Village, she bicycled with her daughter, one-year-old Racheal, 60 kilometers from her home to the Mansa Hospital.

Standard Chartered Bank

July 27, 2017

Standard Chartered supports Orbis’s “Seeing Is Believing” global community fundraising project which aims to serve China's blind population.

AAAASFI

July 27, 2017

AAAASFI’s accreditation programs standardize and improve the quality of medical and surgical care.

Support our Events

July 31, 2017

Orbis hosts events all around the world to bring people together in the fight against avoidable blindness.

Join us at our next event!

Ghana

July 28, 2017

The need for child eye health services in Ghana is immense. It is estimated that 9,000 children are blind, and up to 70 percent of these cases are avoidable. There are only two trained pediatric ophthalmologists in the country and no formal pediatric ophthalmology training exists.

Dedicate Your Gift

July 31, 2017

Pay tribute to a special person in your life by making a gift to Orbis in their honour or memory.

How You Can Help

July 31, 2017

There are plenty of ways you can save sight and help fight blindness. Read more below and give someone the gift of sight today:

Bolivia

July 31, 2017

Bolivia has one of the highest rates of blindness and visual impairment in South America with more than 230,000 people affected. With only 470 ophthalmologists serving 11.5 million people, Bolivia lacks the resources - as well as the necessary infrastructure, equipment and technology - to provide high quality eye health services.

Peru

July 31, 2017

In Peru, around 1.7 million people are visually impaired and another 145,000 are blind. There is a critical need to tackle some of the more complicated and less understood causes of eye disease in the region such as Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) in premature babies and Diabetic Retinopathy (DR).

Vietnam

July 31, 2017

There are 400,000 adults and 23,000 children in Vietnam who are blind. While blindness in Vietnam has decreased over the last decade, the country continues to struggle with providing eye care, especially in rural areas. Quality of care, training and human resources still remain problematic, and overall awareness of how to prevent blindness is low.

Nepal

July 31, 2017

Nepal’s diverse terrain – ranging from hot and humid in the south to the snow clad Himalayas in the north – has exacerbated the unequal distribution of infrastructure, equipment, and human resources in eye health. As a result, much of the population is left without adequate access to quality eye care services.

China

July 31, 2017

China is estimated to have the largest number of blind people in the world — around 8.2 million. Yet most eye care professionals, particularly surgically skilled ophthalmologists, are disproportionately located and practicing in urban areas, while a majority of the blind live in rural areas.

India

July 31, 2017

India is home to more than 20 percent of the world's blind population and the largest number of blind children in any one country. The divide between the rich and poor continues to increase, leaving a significant portion of the population without access to basic healthcare services — most of whom live either in rural India or in urban slums.

Bangladesh

July 28, 2017

With only 950 ophthalmologists, Bangladesh faces daunting challenges in delivering quality eye care to its population of 160 million people. Across the country, 750,000 adults and 48,000 children are blind, and approximately 2.5 million people are at risk for developing diabetic retinopathy (DR), a leading cause of blindness.