2022 was indeed a year of success in our mission to prevent blindness and restore sight. Despite a challenging global climate, we exceeded our fundraising goals and were able to relaunch all community projects that had been halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, we brought eye health screening and life-changing eye care to those who needed it most, strengthened health systems and empowered communities to take ownership of their eye health.

2023 marks six decades of global community for Operation Eyesight, and our work is more important than ever before.

Eye health does not happen in isolation. It is closely linked with other determinants of health. That is why we are increasingly focused on whole-person health, as well as the health of entire communities.

As we set our sights on the next 60 years, how do we make avoidable blindness a thing of the past? By continuing to learn from local communities to address the root causes of vision loss. This means listening and responding to their unique needs, preferences and goals, as well as empowering people to create local solutions. As we expand our services into new countries and communities, our learning journey continues.

Whether you have been supporting our work since 1963 or recently joined our global community, I would like to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU. Together, we are transforming lives – For All The World To See!

With gratitude,

Kashinath “Kash” Bhoosnurmath
President & CEO
Operation Eyesight Universal

Art Jenkyns and Dr. Ben Gullison work started as a partnership between generous Canadian donors and compassionate Indian physicians. Today, partnership continues to make our work possible, through resources, knowledge and expertise:

Leading quality and innovation – Partnerships with eye institutes like the L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) help us drive training of eye health personnel as well as quality improvement work at other partner hospitals.

Local solutions – Partnering with ministries of health and education in our countries of work, as well as 70+ partner hospitals, allows us to integrate eye health care into local health systems and create systemic change.

Technical and financial partners – Through funding and implementation partnerships with groups like the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Child Blindness Program, CBM Christian Blind Mission, Sightsavers and Optometry Giving Sight, as well as like-minded companies like Vision Group Canada, we are magnifying our impact.

A common purpose – International cohorts like the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), the Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH), Cooperation Canada and the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation (ACGC), enable us to share learnings and contribute to a body of knowledge that is helping make avoidable vision loss a thing of the past.

To our many partners worldwide – thank you for being part of our global community!

Despite a challenging economic environment both in Canada and globally, our total revenues increased by 35 per cent in 2022, as donations reached their highest level in the past decade. Thanks to the generosity and loyalty of our long-term donors, our increased revenues were bolstered by a rise in legacy gifts, which surpassed $1 million – nearly three times the amount we received through bequests and life insurance premiums in 2021.

Grants represented nearly a third of revenues in 2022. The growth in grant-related funding we received in 2022 is helping diversify our funding and will bolster our financial stability.

2022 was a pivotal year for many international development organizations and Operation Eyesight was no exception. With the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, we were able to relaunch international programs that had been halted by the pandemic. As a result, our overall expenditures increased by nearly 40 per cent in 2022. These represented mid- to longer-term investments in community programs and projects, and we expect this to translate into more lives impacted by the Gift of Sight in subsequent years. Thanks to increased revenues, our 2022 expenditures were proportionate to revenues for the year, and we generated a small surplus.

This has positioned us to continue expanding our programs in both existing and new countries of work, so we can bring quality, affordable eye health care to more people than ever before in 2023 and beyond.

Thank you for your generous support!