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Spread the joy of seeing to more children!

A picturesque landscape with majestic mountains and lakes ... A bustling culinary hub...Where will you spend your first post-pandemic getaway?

Rediscovering the World Orbis-Style!

Florica Lin

Orbis Bright Leader

When our Flying Eye Hospital's dedicated team of volunteer medical professionals, including an ophthalmologist from Hong Kong, finally took to the sky again, it was on a vital trip to save and restore sight in Can Tho, Vietnam. This time around, our innovative mixed-training initiative was focused solely on bringing the gift of sight to transform the lives of needlessly blind youngsters.

While in Can Tho, the first stop of our journey, the team was joined by specially appointed "Orbis Bright Leader," Florica Lin, who will share her sight-saving experience in the following stories. Every child should have the vision to see and marvel at the blue of the sky and sea, and the rich colours of nature!

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Opening Blind Kids' Eyes to Sky-High Dreams.

While air travel is how most of us explore the world, our Flying Eye Hospital also marks the starting point for needlessly blind children seeking out new horizons.

A radically re-engineered cargo plane, this fully functional eye hospital uniquely integrates with operating theatre, classroom and recovery area. It assists in the training of 52 local doctors and nurses and treats many patients with cataract, strabismus, glaucoma and retinopathy in this program.

A five-year-old drooping eyelid sufferer called Han was our first patient. Having undergone a botched local operation, most of the vision in her left eye was still blocked by her eyelid. The joyful look on her face as she discovered the world and her teddy bear were no longer missing a corner when she opened her eyes following her onboard operation was truly heart-warming.

Florica

“Some 3,000,000 Viet­namese kids are in des­per­ate need of sight-sav­ing surgery. Although our time in Can Tho was lim­it­ed, I was blessed to wit­ness so many life-chang­ing sto­ries. I hope that Orbis Fly­ing Eye Hos­pi­tal can fly even fur­ther and help even more kids to ful­fil their dreams.”

Only by Untying Our Shackles Can We Reach for the Sky.

Afflicted with strabismus since childhood, 18-year-old Tran Minh Tu (Andrew) had long suffered from low self-esteem because of his asymmetrical eyes. "I was constantly ridiculed and no one wanted to be my friend due to how I looked." Six years ago, Orbis surgeons corrected his sight and the shy little boy was finally able to begin maturing into a confident young adult.

When we met Andrew in Can Tho, he proudly showed us his academic results. A top-ranked student, he is now studying hard for his university entrance examinations and dreams of helping his family by becoming a computer programmer.

While easily treatable in developed countries, childhood strabismus in places like Can Tho all too often evolves into adult amblyopia and vision loss. Florica firmly believes that easy access to treatment is essential to stop this from happening, allowing every child to soar.

Florica

“No child’s future should be lim­it­ed by where he or she was born.”

All Youngsters Should Be Free to Explore Our World!

Can Tho Children's Hospital's lobby is packed with parents tenderly cradling premature babies born under 32 weeks of pregnancy who urgently need to be screened for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). The condition occurs when incubated new-barns inhale excessive oxygen and suffer abnormal proliferation of retinal blood vessels. Early treatment is critical in preventing permanent vision loss.

Orbis-trained Dr. Kieu is one of only a handful of doctors here who can treat ROP; frequently screening and operating on an average of 14 cases a day. Dr. Kieu said that before Orbis began training doctors here, patients had to travel as far as 150 kms to Ho Chi Minh City for treatment. Determined to study hard regardless of her busy schedule, she also participated in this training program, learning under the guidance of Orbis Hong Kong volunteer ophthalmologist Dr. Timothy Lai.

Florica

“With­out ROP train­ing, count­less pre­ma­ture babies will be deprived of the chance to look for­ward to a brighter future.”

Flying Bravely Towards a Colorful Dawn.

By constantly evolving our blindness-saving efforts, Orbis not only maximizes resources and effectiveness, its volunteers also save and restore even more preventably blind children's sight during the golden treatment period. By instructing the local doctors and nurses we train to share their new skills with their colleagues, we create a virtuous circle that benefits sufferers long after our Flying Eye Hospital has flown on to another deserving destination.

During the flight back from Vietnam, Florica spoke admiringly of our volunteers' professionalism and passion. "Sadly, while I'll soon be home, countless visually impaired children in Vietnam and around the world are still waiting for the chance to see. Next time you're flying out of town, please give those kids a lasting souvenir by donating to Orbis."

As Little as $50 Is Enough to Help Save Blind Child's Sight.

It doesn’t cost the price of an airline ticket to save or restore a child’s sight. A donation of little – just a price of a souvenir to our Kids Sight Friends monthly donation program can help open needlessly blind eyes!

HK$50/monthly

You can subsidize eye screening for 300 school children each year

HK$120/monthly

You can subsidize cataract surgeries for 5 people each year

HK$250/monthly

You can save 500 toddlers from trachoma each year

Help our world's 90,000,000 visually impaired children see life in all its colors by becoming an Orbis Kids Sight Friends monthly donor today!

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