Five Reasons You Can Be Proud to Support Orbis

Rabi’s teacher noticed that he would often cry when asked to read or write at school, and she was worried he would fall behind. He eventually admitted that he could only see things up close, and his impaired vision made him feel scared and embarrassed.

Thanks to Orbis supporters, Rabi got a vision screening and was diagnosed with high myopia, or near-sightedness. A simple pair of eyeglasses that cost mere dollars—which Orbis provided free of charge thanks to generous people like you—corrected Rabi’s sight.

Had Rabi not received the care he needed, his condition could have prevented him from getting an education and learning life skills—limiting his opportunities in the future. Rabi wants to be a teacher or a police officer when he’s older. With his vision corrected, his dreams are finally in reach.

Shemsedin is a proud dad of a little 11-month-old girl, Hamdia. Shemsedin and his family live in a rural district in southern Ethiopia, where he provides for his family working as a farmer.

Shemsedin also takes care of Hamdia by making sure she receives yearly doses of antibiotics to combat trachoma, the leading cause of infectious blindness in their home country.

He learned about the importance of that annual regimen through Orbis-supported public education programs. These campaigns and Orbis’s annual Mass Drug Administration project—in which we give millions of doses of trachoma-preventing medicine to children and adults—have helped virtually eliminate the painful, blinding condition in 24 districts throughout southern Ethiopia

Around the world, Orbis’s sight-saving programs allow parents like Shemsedin to secure their children’s healthy vision and brighter futures. Because of ongoing support and the annual doses of antibiotics, Hamdia will never suffer the agony of trachoma like many generations of little girls before her.

We never get tired of celebrating our supporters, because we know how special you are. You're the most caring, generous people around! You share our vision of a world free from avoidable blindness and are doing what you can to help make that vision a reality.

One of those supporters is Kathy Ilyin. When asked why supporting the fight against avoidable blindness is so important to her, she said: “With my own eyes I saw people – children especially – brought from dark blindness into a world of light and color. Finally, they could see their dear ones’ faces.”

Gary Dyson, who volunteers his time and energy as our Chief Flying Eye Hospital Pilot, has similar reasons for supporting Orbis.

“My most memorable moment volunteering for Orbis was the first time I saw a young child regain her sight. When I saw the smile and excitement on the child’s face and realized her life had just changed so much for the better, I was totally hooked…I wanted to experience this again and again, and I have!” – Gary Dyson, FedEx pilot who volunteers with Orbis.

We’re proud that wonderful people like Kathy, Gary, and so many others have chosen to support our sight-saving work and change the lives of people like Rabi, Shemsedin, and Hamdia around the world.

Orbis has received ten straight 4-star ratings from Charity Navigator. Only 3 percent of the organizations that Charity Navigator evaluates have received at least ten consecutive 4-star evaluations, setting Orbis apart from most other charities in America. Orbis has also received the Guidestar Platinum Seal of Transparency—Guidestar’s highest level of recognition.

We’re proud to have earned these incredible acknowledgements, and we know that it puts our supporters at ease. When you give to Orbis, you can trust that your donation will make a difference—we can guarantee it.

“I know that my money will go where it’s supposed to go – to programs that will end avoidable blindness. It makes me feel good.” – Hal Biestek, volunteer pilot and member of the Orbis Visionary Club.

Hal is right. We work hard to ensure everything we do is guided by our vision to transform lives through the prevention and treatment of blindness, and we have high standards for how we achieve those goals.

We work hard to ensure your generous contributions are being used as effectively and efficiently as possible to deliver high quality eye care and build a lasting eye care legacy in the communities that need it most. In fact, we’re proud to share that 92 cents of every dollar donated by supporters goes directly to our sight-saving work around the globe.

Every donor can be assured that their gift is directly combating avoidable blindness—a cause all of us care so deeply about. Fighting blindness around the globe is a major endeavor, and we truly couldn’t transform so many lives without your support!

Whatever your reason for giving, we do hope you’ll take a moment to make a gift to Orbis this holiday season. We promise to put it to the best possible use, bringing the gift of sight around the world and changing lives for the better. Thank you from all of us – and happy holidays!