HOW YOUR SUPPORT IS CHANGING LIVES
MAY 2018
TIMOTHY’S TRANSFORMATION
PHOTO: MICHAEL AMENDOLIA
A KENYAN BOY GETS MORE THAN JUST HIS SIGHT BACK
A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO It is with great excitement that I step into the role of CEO at The Fred Hollows Foundation. I first learnt about The Foundation when I was working in Eritrea in the early 1990s. I was shocked to hear that 4 out of 5 people who are blind don’t need to be and thought it was amazing that there was an organisation dedicated to changing this.
RESTORING SIGHT TO WOMEN AND GIRLS The Fred Hollows Foundation has launched She Sees, a new initiative to become a leader in affordable, accessible eye care for women and girls. She Sees is The Foundation’s public commitment to address gender disparity in blindness as a key global health issue. Women are 1.3 times more likely to be blind than men. She Sees’ purpose is to narrow that gap. Fred Hollows believed that everyone’s sight was worth saving. His commitment to ending avoidable blindness continues today through our work bringing affordable eye care to those who need it most. She Sees carries on Fred’s legacy to ensure that every woman has equal access to high-quality and affordable eye care.
I have enormous respect for what The Foundation has achieved over the past 25 years and acknowledge the incredible contribution of many people, including former CEO Brian Doolan.
PHOTO: MARY TRAN
But there’s more work to do. Research published in Lancet Global Health predicts that without better funding and access to eye care services, the number of people who are blind will rise from 36 million to 115 million over the next 30 years. That is why it is more important than ever to keep Fred’s vision alive. The Foundation is working hard in more than 25 countries to deliver eye operations and treatments, train surgeons and health workers, provide essential equipment and advocate to governments to do more.
WHAT DOES BEING BLIND LOOK LIKE?
This work is only possible because of your generous support. Fred used to say that the greatest attribute of mankind was our ability to help one another and the ongoing commitment you show to carrying on his legacy is inspiring. I look forward to leading The Foundation forward as we continue to deliver high-quality affordable services and strive to find innovative new ways to address eye health challenges. We have a clear vision of a world where no person is needlessly blind and we know what we need to do to achieve this. Together we can end avoidable blindness.
Ian Wishart CEO
Most of us don’t understand what vision loss is really like. Despite popular belief, it isn’t a matter of seeing nothing versus seeing clearly. The reality is somewhere in between. That’s why we’ve launched an online Sight Simulator – www.sightsimulator.org. The simulator allows you to search for familiar addresses or iconic landmarks and view them with varying severities of vision loss due to cataracts, glaucoma or diabetic retinopathy. The simulator shows that well-known attractions like the Sydney Opera House are difficult to identify with dense cataracts and even familiar locations may be unrecognisable. Imagining life without sight is difficult – but the Sight Simulator gives a glimpse into what that life is like.
THE FRED HOLLOWS FOUNDATION FRED’S VISION MAY 2018
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VANN’S NEW LIFE FOUR YEARS ON
PHOTOS: MARY TRAN
PHOTO: ANDY NILSEN
NEWS |
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You may remember this photo of Vann from Cambodia, taken just after her surgery in 2013. Back then, Vann was three years old and blind from cataracts. Her parents, Barang and Thavy, worried constantly about how they would care for her and whether cataract would affect other children they had. For that reason, they made the difficult decision not to have any more children. Barang desperately sought help for his daughter, but couldn’t afford the surgery on his garment factory wage. But with your support, we were able to arrange for Vann to have her cataracts removed in Phnom Penh.
Four years on, Vann is fulfilling her dream of going to school and wants to be a doctor when she grows up. “After surgery, Vann changed completely,” Barang said. “Before she could not do anything, even play with her friends. Now she can be independent and go to school.” This independence is clear to see each morning as Vann rides her bike to school and plays elastics with her friends and her younger brother Vythavid, who, despite Barang’s and Thavy’s earlier decision, was born two years after her operation. “I would like to say thank you to all of the Fred Hollows supporters on behalf of my family,” said Barang. Every time we restore someone’s sight, we help restore their independence. Vann is proof of the value of this lasting impact.
TIMOTHY TRANSFORMED A Kenyan boy gets more than just his sight back Symon Kibet shakes hands eagerly, barely able to contain his excitement. People have come to help his nine-year-old son Timothy. Timothy is shy and stands to one side. He has cataracts and without immediate intervention, he will go blind. Timothy has struggled at school. His classroom is small and dim. There is no light except what sunlight can find its way through the cracks. While other students are unfazed by the darkness, it is another obstacle for Timothy who spends much of his time standing at his teacher’s feet, inches from the blackboard, trying to make out the letters and numbers. Symon sought help from the local district hospital where Timothy was diagnosed with cataract. He was also told that The Fred Hollows Foundation could help with surgery at Sabatia Eye Hospital in Kenya’s west. “He will have good outcomes. There is no reason why Timothy should not have close to perfect vision after the surgery,” said Dr Ernest Ollando, the medical director at Sabatia Eye Hospital. Symon waits anxiously outside the operating theatre. The love between father and son is obvious. He is worried about his boy. But Symon is also struggling to understand why Australian people are helping his son. “I am just so grateful,” he says over and over again. The day after surgery Dr Ollando removes the patch from Timothy’s left eye. At first Timothy is bewildered but the growing smile as his gaze settles on his father tells all – Symon knows Timothy is seeing him clearly for the first time in years. Thirty minutes later, Symon tests Timothy’s hand-eye coordination by playing the age-old ‘high-five’ game, holding out his palm but pulling it away an instant before Timothy’s hand connects – high, low, to the side. Timothy connects a lot. Soon Symon holds up one finger, then five fingers, then a clenched fist – having Timothy copy. Timothy gets them all right. At home, Timothy and Symon play soccer, a game Timothy loves but could not play as his sight deteriorated. Today he tears around the garden – kicking and running like never before, fetching the ball from amongst the vegetables his mother Miriam grows. She forgives him this time. “As a paediatric ophthalmologist, there is no better feeling than making a difference in a child’s life,” Dr Ollando said.
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PHOTOS: MICHAEL AMENDOLIA
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GROUNDBREAKING PROJECT TO TACKLE TRACHOMA Trachoma is the leading cause of infectious blindness worldwide with as many as 229 million people at risk of developing the debilitating and painful disease. The Fred Hollows Foundation is committed to playing a significant role in the global alliance to eliminate the disease by 2020.
The ‘Stronger SAFE’ project will take place in Ethiopia and aims to increase understanding of trachoma transmission, and hopefully lead to the development of new targeted interventions and treatment approaches. The groundbreaking research project will be conducted in partnership with the Oromia Regional Health Bureau, the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and Monash University.
PHOTO: MICHAEL AMENDOLIA
Ethiopia has the highest burden of trachoma with 155,000 people in urgent need of surgery and 76 million people at risk. But the good news is that trachoma is entirely preventable and treatable.
PHOTO: MATTHEW SMEAL
With two years to go, The Fred Hollows Foundation has joined forces with the Federal Ministry of Health in Ethiopia and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine on a $6.2 million five-year project named ‘Stronger SAFE’ to accelerate the elimination of trachoma.
THE FRED HOLLOWS FOUNDATION FRED’S VISION MAY 2018
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PHOTOS: MARY TRAN
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LOVE AT SECOND SIGHT Imagine not being able to see the people you love. That was the reality for Mai One and Yom from Oudomxay in Laos. Mai One first laid eyes on Yom 60 years ago when he saw her weaving outside her house. “We fell in love in just one day,” he said. “The next day I came back and asked for her hand in marriage.” But decades later, cataracts had left Mai One and Yom unable to see each other and dependent on their daughterin-law for care. “We can’t feed ourselves, wash ourselves or go anywhere. We feel like such a burden on our family. We are very depressed,” Mai One said. “We can only tell our children by their voices and cannot see our grandchildren,” Yom said. Despite their situation, their love for each other remained strong. “We’ve loved each other for a very long time and we’re still so very much in love, but we long to see each other again,” they said.
The couple was identified for surgery during an outreach screening program supported by The Fred Hollows Foundation. Like many people in their remote region, they were unaware that a simple 15 minute operation could restore their sight. Just 24 hours after their surgery, Mai One and Yom’s faces lit up as they saw each other clearly for the first time in years. “I’m so happy, I can see Mai One’s smile!” Yom said. The couple is looking forward to supporting their family again by weaving, farming and looking after their grandchildren. But their greatest excitement is being able to see each other. “It is a second love for us, we can fall in love all over again,” Mai One said. “The first time I saw Yom she was so beautiful and I fell in love, and now it is a second love.”
YES, I WILL MAKE A DONATION TO RESTORE SIGHT AND PREVENT BLINDNESS. STEP 1: MY REGULAR MONTHLY DONATION Many of our supporters find it easier to make monthly donations to The Foundation. YES, I would like to make a monthly donation of:
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“EVERY EYE IS AN EYE” – FRED HOLLOWS
Fred believed everyone’s sight was worth saving. Thanks to The Foundation’s regular supporters we hope to support and fund more eye operations and treatments globally than ever.
Four out of 5 people who are blind don’t need to be, but together we can end avoidable blindness. By joining our monthly giving program you will restore sight and change the lives of people living with avoidable blindness in Indigenous Australia and across the developing world. In some countries it can cost as little as $25 to restore someone’s sight. You will help deliver essential eye care to people with cataract and other eye diseases, fund medical equipment and increase the number of surgeons and eye health workers in the field. To join as a monthly giver, simply fill out your details on the form on this page, call 1800 352 352 or visit www.hollows.org/donate. Restoring sight changes lives every month. Thank you.
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Donations to The Fred Hollows Foundation are used to support our programs in Australia and overseas. The information contained in this publication is accurate at the time of printing. For more information contact fhf@hollows.org Fred’s Vision Magazine © 2017 is a publication of The Fred Hollows Foundation ABN 46 070 556 642. The Fred Hollows Foundation works for a world where no one is needlessly blind and Indigenous Australians enjoy the same health and life expectancy as other Australians. This publication may contain images of persons who have passed away. The Fred Hollows Foundation would like to acknowledge these persons and pay our respects to them and their families.