Community Outreach

We want to make sure everyone has access to quality eye care, no matter where they live. This is why, as well as strengthening and equipping local hospitals, we work at a community level - training and educating people about eye health to ensure even the most remote areas receive the best possible treatment.

Rural populations face a number of challenges - in addition to the majority of health services being located in urban areas, there are very few qualiﬁed doctors and nurses on hand. People in rural communities often have to travel hundreds of miles by poor transport networks, and that's if they're lucky enough to have been diagnosed and referred in the first place.

We work with partners to distribute vital antibiotics to treat and prevent serious eye conditions, such as Zithromax, the antibiotic which tackles trachoma, an excruciatingly painful and blinding disease.

Fighting Trachoma in Ethiopia - 5 Questions with an Orbis-Trained Healthcare Worker

Bekelech is a Health Extension Worker in southern Ethiopia. In December, she was part of the Orbis team that treated 7.5 million people to prevent the spread of trachoma. Read on to learn about Bekelech's sight-saving work... and her heartfelt message to Orbis supporters.

But quality eye care isn’t just about treatment. We are committed to educating communities about eye health and work with local partners to communicate crucial information about hygiene and good eye care through radio broadcasts, ﬁlm screenings and educational materials. We work with local schools to teach children about the importance of getting help, hoping to break some of the stigma associated with seeking help from hospitals.

The Singing Tree is a wonderful storybook put together by our colleagues in South Africa to help school children learn about the importance of seeking help if their vision is poor. In 2018, we distributed the illustrated storybook The Singing Tree in Amharic to 5,000 school eye health clubs and children in Ethiopia for free, to encourage educators, parents and children to seek help when they identify vision problems.

This is just one example of the new and innovative ways we can help fight blindness with your help.

Click on the thumbnails below to read more.