Sightsavers Charity
Sightsavers was founded in 1950 by John Wilson. Following a tragic accident that left John blind at the age of 12, he dedicated his life to establishing a non-government organisation to address the prevention of blindness, and provide rehabilitation of those whose sight couldn’t be saved.
In 1946-7 he took part in an epic nine-month tour of the African and Middle Eastern territories in what was then the British Empire. Shocked at the scale of blindness he witnessed, he returned determined to do something about it.
60 years later and Sightsavers now works in more than 30 of the world’s poorest countries, to help blind people see, prevent others from going blind unnecessarily, and support people to live independently if their sight loss can’t be undone.
Last year Sightsavers and our partners carried out more than 250,000 sight-restoring surgeries and distributed over 100 million treatments to protect against neglected tropical diseases. But much more is needed. 39 million people around the world are blind and 80 per cent of all blindness is preventable or curable.
This year Sightsavers is launching a new appeal; A Million Miracles. The aim is to raise £30 million by 2017 in order to complete an ambitious one million sight-saving operations, or “A Million Miracles.”
One of our beneficiaries, Agnes, had to stop working on her farm after her sight deteriorated. The cause of her sight deterioration was cataract, a condition where a build-up of protein clouds the eye’s lens, causing blurred, fuzzy vision. It can be removed by straightforward surgery, so when Agnes could no longer work, her daughters encouraged her to go to the local hospital. Where she was diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes, and told she needed surgery.
Just one £30 donation will enable Sightsavers to restore sight to someone like Agnes, and totally transform their life. Plus, the UK government will match your donation, enabling us to provide two miracles for every one you fund.
See more about what we do here:
Other causes of blindness
Trachoma
This is one of a group known as neglected tropical diseases. It starts off as a bacterial infection a bit like conjunctivitis and can be easily treated. But if it’s not, over time it causes scarring to your eyelid and makes your eyelashes turn inward, so with every blink they’re scraping against your eye. It’s unbearably painful and eventually causes blindness.
River blindness
Another neglected tropical disease, river blindness (onchocerciasis) is caused by a parasitic worm and transmitted by the bite of the black fly, which breeds near fast-flowing water (like the rivers where many communities get water for drinking, washing and bathing).
The fly bite passes worm larvae into your skin, the worms breed and spread around your body, and when they die your immune system causes inflammation, which can blind you if it happens in your eyes. Communities often flee infected areas, meaning they lose their homes and their easy access to water, which puts them at risk of other diseases.
Refractive error
The term refractive error covers eye disorders caused by irregularity in the eye’s shape. Refractive errors make it difficult for your eye to clearly focus images from the outside world, and your vision can become blurred and impaired.
It includes problems like myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and astigmatism (an irregularly curved cornea). They can’t be prevented but once diagnosed, they can be treated with glasses, contact lenses or surgery. The World Health Organization estimates that 153 million people live with visual impairment due to uncorrected refractive errors.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma describes a group of eye conditions so it can be hard to classify. It’s usually caused when your eye’s drainage tubes block, causing pressure which can damage the optic nerve. It’s treatable with eye drops, laser treatment or surgery, but it needs to be caught as early as possible, because although treatment can control it, any damage it’s already caused to your sight can’t be reversed.
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For further press information, pictures, case studies, or interviews, please contact Rebecca Keys on 01444 446681 or [email protected]
1. Sightsavers is a registered UK charity (Registered charity numbers 207544 and SC038110) that works in more than 30 developing countries to prevent blindness, restore sight and advocate for social inclusion and equal rights for people with disabilities. www.sightsavers.net
2. There are 39 million blind people in the world; 80% of all blindness can be prevented or cured.
3. In the six decades since its foundation, Sightsavers has:
- Supported over 483.4 million treatments for blinding and potentially blinding conditions
Carried out over 8.14 million operations to restore sight
Trained more than 0.5 million primary eye care workers
Carried out rehabilitation training for 149,000 blind or low vision beneficiaries
Supported 30,000 blind or low vision children to gain a school education
