For the Love of our City…
and our Global Community
Thank you, Calgary and area, for 60 years of preventing blindness
and restoring sight around the world!
For the Love of Our City…
and Our Global Community
Thank you, Calgary, for 60 years of preventing blindness and restoring sight around the world!
Part of what makes our home city such a fantastic place to live is the generosity of Calgarians. For 60 years, the compassion of our donors, paired with the dedication and expertise of our partners around the world, have allowed us to transform the lives of millions of patients and families globally through the Gift of Sight.
We are a Calgary-based international development organization that partners with hospitals and communities to bring eye health care to those who need it most. Whether it’s a simple pair of eyeglasses or a more complex surgery, we believe everyone has the right to affordable and accessible eye health care.
With the support of Calgarians, we are declaring entire communities as avoidable blindness-free – which means no one in the community is experiencing untreated vision loss.
But we still have much work to do. Join our global community today and help us prevent blindness and restore sight for children, women and men in communities around the world.
Sustainable eye health solutions
We work across South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and our sights are set on meeting the unique needs and challenges of local communities.
Partnering with community members, we bring eye health screening and education to people’s front doors. We also partner with local hospitals and governments, with training and investment in tools and resources that communities need to look after their own eye health.
This way, we are strengthening entire health systems and ensuring patients have access to affordable surgery and other eye health treatment, on a sustainable basis.
Eye care and beyond
We are focused on addressing the root causes of avoidable blindness including poverty, education, gender inequality and access to fresh water, and by integrating eye health into local health care systems.
See our programs in action
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A Calgary legacy
In June 1963, Calgary businessman Art Jenkyns was inspired to found Operation Eyesight Universal after meeting Dr. Ben Gullison, a physician who worked at a mission hospital in Sompeta, India.
It was the start of a unique partnership between generous Canadian donors and Indian physicians working to provide eye care for underserved communities. From humble beginnings in the basement of Calgary’s First Baptist Church, over the six decades that followed, Operation Eyesight has become a recognized leader in the global eye health sector, delivering the Gift of Sight to more than 38 million people across India and sub-Saharan Africa.
Today, Calgary remains home to our global headquarters. We also have offices in India, Ghana, Kenya and Zambia.
Our approach has evolved but our mission remains the same. Whether it is a simple pair of eyeglasses or a more complex eye surgery, we believe everyone has the right to affordable, quality eye health care services.
As we embark upon the next 60 years as a global community, together we are addressing the root causes of avoidable blindness and ensuring no child, woman or man is forced to live with untreated vision loss.
Thank you for your compassion and generosity.
