When David lost his sight, his little brother lost his childhood.
David’s parents first noticed his eye problems before he turned 5. David and his family, like so many Kenyans, were living in extreme poverty and had no resources to cover the cost of David’s eye surgery.
David’s younger brother, Bramwell, became his brother’s guide and protector to keep him safe. But this meant that neither of the boys could go to school.
“I don’t want Bramwell to spend all of his life looking after his brother,” their father Samuel said.
As his vision worsened, David was at risk of becoming permanently blind.
Luckily, a community health worker trained by The Fred Hollows Foundation visited David’s village and was able to organise the help they needed. The transportation to the hospital was arranged for David and his father, Samuel, to get David’s eye surgery done.
The day after surgery, Samuel watched as the patch was lifted from his son’s eye. David blinked, then smiled at his clear new world. Samuel was overjoyed. His son could see!
“Samuel’s reaction was beautiful to see: “I am so happy! Without The Foundation, I don’t know what I could have done. Thank you all!” he said.
You can help restore sight to more people like David. Will you make a donation today?
Thanks to generous supporters like you, David's eyesight is restored, and his life is transformed.
David's parents were without hope
When David’s parents noticed his sight was failing, they feared for his future.
If a child does not have surgery to remove their cataract early enough, their brain does not learn to read signals from the eye – and they can be blind for life. David’s family live in extreme poverty, and surgery was out of reach.
“We didn’t even have money for transport, we couldn’t get David’s eyes fixed,” Samuel, his father said.
Thanks to people like you, David now has hope for a better future.
We need your help now to reach more people like David
9 out of 10 people who are blind or vision impaired don’t need to be. Difficulty accessing health services and low numbers of health workers means they can’t get help. With the support of kind Australians like you, we can address these significant barriers and end avoidable blindness.
Time is running out
If a child’s cataract is not treated in time, their brain can’t learn to recognise signals from the eye, and they can stay blind for life. You can help us get to people sooner with and restore their hope for a better future.
Children like David are at risk
Blindness limits a child’s access to education and ability to learn. Up to 75% of children’s learning and development is acquired through vision. Childhood blindness can affect social and emotional development and is associated with delays in crawling and walking. Your kindness can help us restore a future for these children.
People in rural areas miss out on essential care
Of the ophthalmologists working across Kenya, half are based in the capital Nairobi, which means that around 40 million people, are cared for by fewer than 50 eye doctors. But you can help us reach them.
David and Bramwell are still bound by their love for each other, and blindness no longer holds them back
After David’s surgery, as the patches were removed, and the doctor shone a torch in his eyes, David smiled and reached out to the light.
His father, Samuel, was overjoyed to see his child’s sight restored thanks to kind supporters like you.
The surgery opened a new world of possibilities to David, and he was enrolled in school. David has become an unstoppable force, is attentive in class, and is a rising star in the field. The eye surgery has brought out his gift as an agile footballer.
Bramwell is still by his brother’s side, but he is no longer tasked with caring for him. He can now go to school and experience life like any other child.
Before the surgery, it seemed as if the two brothers were heading for a lifetime of hardship. Now they have hope of a future filled with more opportunities.
Help carry on Fred's vision
Fred once said, “… having a care and concern for others is the highest of human qualities.”
With your support, The Foundation’s sight-restoring work has prevented tens of thousands of people from going blind and helped ease the pressure on Kenya’s eye health system.
But there is still work to be done. It is estimated that each year, about 17,000 new cases of cataract are discovered in Kenya. Your support today can improve the lives of thousands of people, securing their future and giving them something wonderful to look forward to - the gift of sight.
Even though Fred is no longer with us, we can still finish the job he started.
We need your help to carry on Fred’s vision.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you will receive an email receipt immediately after donating and if you make a monthly gift you will receive a yearly tax receipt in the post every year.
Yes, donations of $2 and over are tax deductible in Australia.
You can update your details on our Donor Update Form. Or, you can get in touch and someone on our Sydney-based Supporter Care Team will be able to help you.
Your donation will be used to restore sight to those who are needlessly blind, and help end avoidable blindness in the countries where we work, which includes eye operations and treatments, training surgeons and eye health workers, and other sustainable eye health.
For every $1 donated, 75% goes directly towards eye health programs, 6% is necessary for admin costs, and 19% goes towards investment in fundraising efforts which allows us to help even more people in future years.
While the cost of cataract surgery varies depending on the specific operating environments in the countries where we work, in some countries it is possible to restore sight for as little as $25.
Our $25 cost includes the three key things needed to restore sight – the surgeon’s time, the consumable equipment and the intraocular lens (IOL) which replaces the cataract.
The most important element in modern cataract surgery is the IOL – Fred Hollows used to refer to them as "the most expensive pieces of plastic in the world". Reducing the cost of the IOL was the fundamental factor in making cataract surgery affordable.
Today, IOL prices vary significantly – including in low and middle-income countries.
In October 2021 The Foundation evaluated our program costs for small incision cataract surgery in countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Cambodia to ensure the $25 cost remained accurate.
Our assessment showed IOLs start from $4 in Pakistan, about $6 in Cambodia, and about $14 in Bangladesh.
The other key costs are the surgeon’s time (which is less than $1.50 per patient in those three countries) and consumable equipment (as little as $5.46).
So with the cost of the IOL, the surgeon and the consumables it is possible that The Foundation can restore sight for as little as $25 in some countries.
We acknowledge that not all surgeries in all countries are as little as $25. The cost of surgery depends on factors including the country of treatment, the age and circumstances of the patient, how and where the treatment is delivered, the type of procedure, the IOL used, the hospital type (government or private), the facilities of the hospital, inpatient or day procedure delivery mechanisms, and the economic status of people in the country or region.
We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal, and direct debit for monthly donations.
You can change how we contact you at any time. Get in touch, email donations@hollows.org, call 1800 352 352 or write to us at Supporter Care Team, The Fred Hollows Foundation, Locked Bag 5021, Alexandria NSW 2015.
Please view our Regular Giving Service Agreement here.
