Orbis International

#ThrowbackThursday We’d like to reintroduce you to Rose, an adorable little girl from Mongolia whose rare eye tumor was treated in 2022 thanks to our incredible supporters. When Rose’s parents noticed a swelling in her eye, they visited a local doctor who recommended seeing a specialist. As a nomadic family with livestock, it wouldn't be easy to take their toddler on the long journey, but with their concerns growing Rose’s family made the six-hour trek to the National Center for Maternal and Child Health, an Orbis partner hospital in the capital, Ulaanbaatar. There, Rose and her family met Dr. Battsetseg, a pediatric surgeon who trained with Orbis on a Flying Eye Hospital project in Mongolia in 2018. Dr. Battsetseg got specialist support from Dr. Ron Pelton via Cyberisght, Orbis’s telemedicine platform; together they restored Rose’s vision. Stay tuned for more heartwarming stories like this as the Flying Eye Hospital returns to Mongolia for another training project next month. 

Thanks to the Orbis community, 2023 was filled with sight-saving projects to help the world see clearly. From Ethiopia to Peru, Orbis supporters helped train more medical professionals so communities everywhere can get the eye care they need to thrive. In 2023 alone we completed: - 2.7+ million eye screenings at community outreach events - 32,000+ trainings by eye care professionals and community health workers - 88,000+ glasses prescribed - 42,000+ eye surgeries and laser treatments Click below to learn more about the work you helped us accomplish in 2023 in our Annual Report below: https://bit.ly/4f6AGTE

Update from our training project in Peru: For five days, local eye teams have been improving their surgical skills to better treat glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness in the country. During the surgical training, nineteen glaucoma patients also underwent surgery and had their vision restored — that's a lot of healthy eyes! We want to thank our supporters for their generous donations, without which none of this would be possible. We also want to give a special thank you to our partner Alcon for providing equipment to save sight.

Next stop, Mongolia! The Flying Eye Hospital will be taking flight this August for a three-week training program in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. From August 4-22, eye care teams from around Mongolia will gather in the country’s capital to hone their skills to treat blinding conditions like cataracts and strabismus. Hands-on surgical training from expert Volunteer Faculty will equip these doctors with the skills they need to save sight in their communities. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting program! https://lnkd.in/egbpYmKz

#ThrowbackThursday time! Since we’re only weeks away from our Flying Eye Hospital’s return to Mongolia, we wanted to share some wonderful memories from when our plane was last in the country. In 2018, our Volunteer Faculty and clinical staff teams worked shoulder to shoulder with eye care partners to improve the skills and expertise of local teams during a successful three-week training project—building brighter futures for Mongolian communities. Keep your eyes peeled for more exciting news to come soon...

Our teams recently attended IN SIGHT LIVE Mexico to help build connections with others in the eye global eye care community. Here are some highlights from the second day of the conference. International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) #2030InSight #globalhealth #eyecare #eyehealth #visioncare #ophthalmology

At Orbis, we know the best way to improve eye care is by sharing skills... And so do these Canadian ophthalmologists. They are practicing a different cataract technique that is no longer taught in Canada, specifically so they can support communities in other parts of the world and help improve eye care there. Facilitated by our wonderful Dr. Maria Jose Montero Romero Associate Director of Clinical Services for the Flying Eye Hospital, the training sessions were led and coordinated at the 2024 Canadian Ophthalmological Society Annual Conference and will enable these ophthalmologists to improve training in areas where access to cataract surgery is poor. Cataracts, which lead to blurred vision and eventual blindness, are a leading cause of blindness globally. Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (MSICS) is a viable alternative to phacoemulsification (modern cataract removal) and is an effective surgical procedure for patients in low-resource settings. A big thank you to the trainers and ophthalmologists for dedicating their time to improving skills worldwide! Photo credit: Canadian Ophthalmological Society I Société canadienne d'ophtalmologie

Happy 4th of July to the Orbis community! Here's a short clip of our Flying Eye Hospital taking off from San Bernadino, CA, to celebrate. This holiday weekend, we’d like to remind you how much we appreciate you. It’s a time to reflect and to thank you for your support. We may not all have been born or live here in the United States, but we are all united by a common purpose: believing in a world where everyone has access to the eyecare they need to thrive. Thank you also goes to our U.S. Volunteer Faculty members who travel the world sharing their skills and knowledge. And we are thankful for FedEx and their employees, who donated our current Flying Eye Hospital and whose pilots fly our team around the world—and Alcon, who donates state-of-the-art ophthalmic equipment, pharmaceuticals and supplies for the plane and partner hospitals. Your belief in our mission is the foundation upon which we build a better future globally. Together, we can create lasting change.

Exciting news! A five-day training project to improve the skills of local eye care professionals in treating glaucoma has kicked off in Trujillo, Peru. Despite being the second leading cause of blindness in the country, there is a lack of knowledge and skills for treating the disease. Held at the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, the training builds on our long-term partnership where we have been working together to improve eye care in Peru for more than four decades. Thank you to all involved for supporting the project and improving access to quality eye care in Peru. Find out more...

More than 40 years ago, Greenwich residents—including the late Tom Knight, Betsy Trippe Wainwright, and Al Ueltschi—and Dr. David Paton began meeting to launch a plane-based hospital that could reach all corners of the world, delivering cutting-edge training to eye doctors in underserved communities. From this, Orbis International was born. To renew, expand, and celebrate the relationship between Orbis and Greenwich, members of the community were invited to an event on Thursday, May 9, at the Round Hill Club. The event was co-hosted by Langdon and Lyn Cook, Jim and Alison Knight, & Bizzie and Leighton Welch. In total, more than 75 Greenwich residents came to the event to learn about our work to help improve eye care around the world. Read more below: https://lnkd.in/ehG5JAr4