Fred Hollows believed that everyone who needed eye care, could and should receive it. In carrying on Fred’s spirit, International Women’s Day is an important date for The Foundation as we strongly advocate for women’s health and equality around the world. 

Women and girls account for 55% of the world’s blind and vision impaired. Even though the prevalence of blindness is falling for everyone, over the past 30 years, the prevalence of blindness for men dropped by 33% compared to just 25% for women.  

It’s clear that blindness disproportionately affects women.  

The impact of vision impairment and blindness go far beyond the women affected, impacting their families and communities. That’s why The Fred Hollows Foundation is working hard to give women equal opportunities to access eye health services, and giving women the chance to be leaders, training more women eye health workers. 

Today we celebrate some incredible women and reflect on the biases and challenges that they have been able to face and overcome. We could have chosen many more amazing stories but here are just a few that hopefully will inspire you.  




 


Carrying on Fred’s Legacy: From Australia to Indonesia  

 



Dr Wulansari has a special connection with Fred Hollows.  

In 2013, The Fred Hollows Foundation supported Dr Wulansari’s training in Hetauda, Nepal. She learned surgical techniques directly from Dr Sanduk Ruit, Fred's famous colleague and friend who himself has performed more than 120,000 cataract surgeries throughout his career. 

For Dr Wulansari, nothing beats the feeling of witnessing a patient seeing clearly again after surgery.  

“I’m very glad to see a patient see again. They can see, work, study, and pray without any problems. It makes me very happy,” she says.   

More than 30 years since his death, Fred’s vision still lives on through passionate doctors and health workers like Dr Wulansari.  

Fred was a firm believer that there should always be three people in a room: a teacher, a student and a patient. He knew that his students would eventually become teachers themselves too. While a country might only have one ophthalmologist, soon enough it could have two, then 10. 

The Fred Hollows Foundation is carrying on Fred’s vision by training more women to become ophthalmologists who can not only improve eye health systems in their countries but also help to overcome gender barriers. 

When it comes to healthcare, women are often associated with frontline health workers, volunteer community health workers, and nurses. But ophthalmologists like Dr Wulansari are changing this.  

“I’m very, very thankful and grateful for The Fred Hollows Foundation, because of its generous support that inspire me and all of the ophthalmologists in Indonesia,” Dr Wulansari said. 


A champion of community eye health  



Filled with a cheerful spirit and a genuine desire to help people, nurse Ayu is well-loved in her Central Lombok community.  

She has served as a general nurse since the 1990s but was trained by The Fred Hollows Foundation in 2014 and 2019, which allowed her to specialise in eye health. Her training has given her the confidence to help people suffering from eye diseases.   

“From the training, I learned that blindness during old age can be cured. It’s not something that’s difficult and dangerous to do. Also, cataract surgery can help many people,” she says.  

Since her training, she has assisted hundreds of people in getting eye health services, including cataract surgeries.  

The Foundation strongly believes in uplifting women healthcare workers and their impactful work to help amplify their voices within healthcare. They know what the women in their communities need and the barriers they face, and their wealth of knowledge can improve the status of eye care for women globally. 

“Being in the field of healthcare gives us an opportunity to help others,” nurse Ayu says. 


Weaving a brighter future   

 



On the island of Lombok in Indonesia, 57-year-old Menang works hard as a weaver, creating beautiful long fabric, patterned with hues of green, orange, and pink.  

Menang always had an attention to detail. But a year and a half ago, her vision started to deteriorate because of cataract. Despite her blindness, Menang tried her best to continue her daily activities, but she was too afraid to venture beyond her family’s small village because of her poor vision.  

Menang is a widow who lives with her daughter and her two grandsons. However with her worsening vision, she can no longer work and contribute to her family's income.  

When women like Menang face vision impairment and blindness, the consequences are far-reaching not just for the women affected, but also for their families. In many countries blindness significantly decreases a women's capacity to participate actively in society. Not only affecting their health, functioning, but quality of life and places a heavy social and economic burden on her family.  

Fortunately, with the help of a community nurse who was trained by The Fred Hollows Foundation, Menang was able to get surgery.   

Her cataract surgery was a success and when her eye patches were removed, she was happy to be able to see again. 

"It's like heaven!" she exclaimed. "It feels like a delight to see again."  

Back home, she could see her grandchildren clearly and was thrilled to be able to watch them play and enjoy their childhood. 

Menang is grateful for the second chance that was given to her thanks to supporters like you. She can now get back to work and contribute to her family's income once more.  

 

We can empower more women 

Nine out of 10 women who are blind don’t have to be.

With your support, we can help more women join the eye health workforce as surgeons, nurses, clinic support staff, and as community eye health workers.  

This means women will be able to study, work, and be financially independent.  

It also enables women who need health care to feel more comfortable seeking help from health workers, and have their sight restored.

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