International eyecare charity Orbis is dedicated to ensuring no one loses their sight simply because of where they live. During the recent World Sight Day, Orbis partnered with Babiators, Bausch & Lomb, Corza Medical, and Hoya Vision Care, to expand access to eye health services and raise awareness of the millions of children currently waiting for eye care across the globe, through the charity’s #MyEyeStory campaign.
This year’s World Sight Day theme, 'Love Your Eyes', focused on child eye health, promoting confident and stigma-free wearing of eyecare, whilst highlighting how for so many, accessible eye health services are out of reach. Globally, 450 million children cannot access the treatment they need for their vision loss, yet something as simple as a pair of glasses or a short surgery could drastically improve a life—protecting educations and future dreams.
The #MyEyeStory campaign is a celebration of how life-changing eyecare can be. It encourages people to share their personal journeys—from the moment they first put on glasses to receiving sight-saving treatments—through short one-minute videos on social media, using the hashtag and tagging Orbis UK (Facebook/Instagram). These individual stories are meant to inspire adults and children to embrace eye health as a key part of their wellbeing and shed light on the millions of children still waiting for the chance to see clearly.
As well as raising awareness, these companies are each making a financial contribution to Orbis, supporting the charity's sight-saving work across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, where 90% of those with untreated vision loss live. These donations could help to establish a vision centre for a rural community, fund much needed glasses, deliver critical surgeries, or support the training of eyecare professionals—ensuring more young people receive the care they need to thrive.
Paul Hopkinson, Business Development Lead at Orbis UK, said: "We are incredibly grateful for the invaluable support from our corporate partners on World Sight Day. That day was an opportunity to celebrate the incredible progress made by the global eye health community in tackling avoidable blindness while also focusing on the challenges ahead. Together, we are raising awareness of what’s still left to be done to ensure everyone has access to eyecare, helping to protect the sight of millions of people for generations to come."
For over four decades, Orbis has been a pioneer in the fight against avoidable blindness. The charity combines hands-on training and state-of-the-art technology, to empower eye health professionals in low- and middle-income countries to support more people with vision loss in their communities.
Through Orbis’s innovative Flying Eye Hospital, a fully accredited ophthalmic teaching hospital on board an MD-10 aircraft, long term programmes and Cybersight, its award-winning telemedicine platform, the charity last year alone delivered over 32,000 trainings for eye care professionals & community health workers across the globe.
Visit their website to learn about the #MyEyeStory Campaign: www.orbis.org/en/world-sight-day-uk
