Operation Eyesight Universal

Calgary, Alberta

Gift of Sight

What is the donation supporting? 
Giving through the Gift of Sight Campaign will support Operation Eyesight eliminate avoidable blindness, an unaddressed disability that is both a cause and a consequence of poverty around the world.

*Operation Eyesight will allocate funds raised to programming areas of the highest priority. Examples given are in Canadian dollars and reflect full costs of products and services across a number of regions, and may vary depending on location, currency exchange rates and product and service availability.

Where is the support provided?
India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Kenya, Zambia, Ghana, Ethiopia and Liberia

Why is the support needed?
Vision impairment is the world’s largest unaddressed disability. When people have their sight, they have more opportunities to work, learn and break the cycle of poverty.

About Us

Operation Eyesight is an international development organization working towards eliminating avoidable blindness.

Based in Calgary, we’ve brought sight-restoration and blindness-prevention treatment to millions of people since our founding in 1963. Today, our work is focused in the African countries of Ghana, Kenya and Zambia, and the South Asian countries of Nepal and India – places where blindness can be deadly, especially to those who are very young, old or poor.

We work in partnership with local governments, medical professionals and community development teams, building essential resources that give all people, including the poorest, access to the help they need. We’ve developed an innovative model of hospital-based community eye care that ensures sustainable service for entire communities.

How does Operation Eyesight Address Avoidable Blindness? 

Currently operating in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, we partner with local governments and hospitals to ensure quality eye health care services are made available, accessible and affordable to those in need. We train community health workers who identify people in need of eye care services through door-to-door surveys in surrounding communities and refer them to vision centres and our network of over 55 partner hospitals to get the care they need regardless of age, gender, or ability to pay.  Operation Eyesight strives to eliminate barriers to access for women and girls by ensuring quality eye care services are available to everyone. By prioritizing the well-being of women and girls, we ensure the success of entire communities.    

Operation Eyesight also works to bring clean water to communities and to educate about the importance of proper hygiene to prevent the spread of communicable diseases, including painful eye infections such as trachoma. Access to clean water helps build healthy, resilient communities.  

The long-term sustainability of our programs is achieved by involving the local community at all stages of a project. By establishing partnerships with local hospitals and Ministries of Health we have been able to empower underserved and marginalized communities to access quality, affordable eye care. By integrating our work into the existing health system, the benefits continue well into the future, after our programs have ended.

Learn More about Operation Eyesight’s Covid-19 Response

Give the Gift of Sight today!