Welcome to Operation Eyesight, Aly!

Written by Admin, published on May 29, 2018 Give the Gift of Sight
Aly Bandali
Fueled by his own experience with avoidable blindness, Aly is passionate about Operation Eyesight’s cause.

We at Operation Eyesight are excited to welcome our new executive director, Aly Bandali. With an extensive background in Human Resource work in different fields, Aly is passionate about making a difference. And now he’s focusing on making a difference in the lives of people living with avoidable blindness in Africa and South Asia.

My family and I are from Uganda, and my grandmother and her two brothers lived with avoidable blindness. Unfortunately, they never received treatment during their lifetimes.

When my family moved to Canada, we had very little. We all lived in a small bungalow, and my parents were away most of the day at work. So my grandmother would look out for my younger brother and I. Even though she was blind, she would wake us up, get us ready for school, get us fed and out the door to take public transit to kindergarten.

It’s pretty cool to see how my life has come full circle – by working with Operation Eyesight, the work we do gives back to Africa, where I was born.”

For Brian’s part, he’s sad to go, but he’s excited to take on new challenges and ventures.

“I’ve seen this organisation grow a lot over the years, and I’m impressed by how much our approach has changed. We started as an aid organisation and have evolved into a development organisation. Back when we were providing aid, I always worried what would happen to the people we were helping if anything were to happen to Operation Eyesight. Now our work has a generational impact through our community development, and I can rest easy knowing that people will be helped even after our work is done.”

Brian is proud of the organisation, and he says that what he’ll miss the most are the people. “I’m going to miss all the amazing people who dedicate their time to the cause – all our hard-working international team and everyone in the Calgary office as well. I’m proud of our organisation, and it’s been an honour to work with Operation Eyesight and to have had so many incredible experiences over the years.”

Brian led Operation Eyesight as Executive Director since 2013, and has shaped the organisation into what it is today – And he thanks all our supporters for making that possible.

Aly plans to build on Brian’s legacy, and he has big plans for Operation Eyesight.

“When Brian became the Executive Director of Operation Eyesight, it was smaller. During his time in leadership, the organisation has grown and continues to grow in an upward trajectory. I look

forward to exploring how we can continue that upward trajectory. The elimination of avoidable blindness is realistic, it’s achievable, and I’m amazed by how much we’re doing given our current scale. It’s incredible to imagine what Operation Eyesight could do with more.”

Aly will be a wonderful addition to our team, and we can’t wait to see what we can accomplish together – to give the Gift of Sight to thousands more in need.

If you happen to be in Calgary, you can come help us wish Brian all the best and meet Aly at our Donor Celebration on June 25th. If you would like to attend and haven’t received an invitation, please feel free to get in touch at info@operationeyesight.com and we’ll be happy to help you get registered.

Please note that we are asking for a $10 donation to reserve your spot.