Give the Gift of Sight to People Like Jeffrey

Jeffrey’s story: Caring for Country takes clear sight

For nearly a decade, Jeffrey Foster worked as a ranger on Warumungu Country in the Northern Territory. He protected sacred sites, cared for native plants and animals, supported traditional burns, and took Elders out on Country.

A few years ago, smoke from a backburn combined with an old welding injury began to cloud Jeffrey’s vision. Tasks that once felt routine became risky.

When Jeffrey attended an eye clinic in Tennant Creek, he learned cataract was the cause of his vision loss. He travelled hours to Alice Springs Hospital for surgery through an Eye Intensive supported by The Fred Hollows Foundation in partnership with Anyinginyi Health Aboriginal Corporation.

Sight returned, life renewed

Ophthalmologist Dr Tim Henderson performed Jeffrey’s surgery. Because Jeffrey’s cataract was advanced, Dr Tim knew the operation would not be straightforward. Too often, people arrive late for treatment, not because help is unavailable, but because distance, long travel, and concerns about how they will be treated in hospital stand in the way.

When the eye patch came off the next morning, the change was immediate.

“I want to drive again,” Jeffrey said. “I want to take my grandchildren swimming. I want to go hunting again.”

After surgery, Jeffrey regained his independence. “Life is so much better now,” he says. “I can get back to a normal life.”

The reality of Indigenous eye health in Australia

Avoidable blindness remains far too common for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Trachoma still threatens communities

Australia is the only developed country where trachoma still exists, found predominantly in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, Western Australia, and South Australia.

Cataracts take sight too soon

Cataract is far more common among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults, yet people wait almost 40% longer for surgery.

Vision loss limits lives

Blindness and vision loss are three times more common among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults than among other Australians.

Where our work began: Fred Hollows and Indigenous Australia

In 1968, Fred Hollows was working in his Sydney eye clinic when two Gurindji Elders arrived with eye problems he had never seen before. After treating them, Fred was invited to visit Wattie Creek in the Northern Territory.

He was shocked to find widespread trachoma in remote Aboriginal communities – a disease he believed should not exist in modern Australia.

Fred’s outrage led to the National Trachoma and Eye Health Program. Between 1976 and 1978, Fred and his team visited more than 465 communities, treated over 100,000 people, and halved the rate of blindness among Aboriginal Peoples.

The program’s success came from its approach: First Nations people were involved in the design and delivery of services – a first for health programs in Australia.

As Fred said himself: “Aboriginal groups should be calling the shots, hiring and firing resource personnel, and deciding policy.”

What we’re doing today

Through the Indigenous Australia Program, The Fred Hollows Foundation works in partnership with First Nations–controlled health and community organisations to deliver patient-centred, culturally safe, and community-led eye care.

Thanks to your kindness, in 2024:

15,981 people were screened for eye disease
3,288 eye operations and treatments were performed
3,291 pairs of glasses were distributed
78 people were trained, including Aboriginal health workers, educators, and clinic support staff