Eric could have been blind forever.
When we first met nine-year-old Eric we found a sad little boy whose hopes were simple. All he wanted was to play football with his brother and to go to school. But the local school couldn’t teach a blind child, so he spent long days sitting by his mother, Clementine, while she worked.
Clementine is a farm labourer, but with Eric at her side she could only take on work that was close to home. She could barely earn enough to feed her two sons.
Many children like Eric live in extreme poverty. They often live a very lonely life, with little hope of ever going to school or enjoying the freedom of childhood.
When you help restore sight to someone like Eric, you open up their whole future.
Clementine was desperate to help her son, but their village is hours from the nearest hospital. There was no way they could afford the trip to the hospital or the surgery he urgently needed. Without outreach programs like the ones run by The Fred Hollows Foundation, finding help would have been very difficult. But a community health worker visited the area where Eric lives, and contacted Dr Ciku Mathenge.
Dr Ciku (Wanjiku) Mathenge was the first female ophthalmologist in Africa and was trained by The Foundation. She has transformed the lives of countless people.
Eric had very small eyes, and abnormal eye movements which meant that the connection between his eyes and his brain may not have developed. There was a risk that Eric wouldn’t be able to see, even with surgery. The surgery was nerve-wracking, but when Eric's patches were removed the next morning, he immediately reached out for Dr Ciku’s hand and smiled at his mother. That was the moment everyone realised he'd be okay.
All Eric hoped for was to play football and go to school. And now he can, this is the difference you can make.
You can help restore sight to more people like Eric. Will you make a donation today?
Just like Fred, Dr Ciku couldn't stand by while children went blind.
Dr Ciku is someone you would trust to do the most important thing: operate on your child. Eric’s mum trusted her when everyone else told her there was no hope for her son. As the first female ophthalmologist to be trained by The Foundation in Kenya, Dr Ciku has performed eye surgery on the most vulnerable children. She is a testament to Fred Hollows and the support of everyday Australians like you.
We need your help now to reach more people like Eric
Monthly donations are the most effective way to give. You are always in control of your donation and you decide how long you give for and how much. It’s a convenient and secure way many of our committed donors change lives everyday.
Restore sight every month
For just $25 a month you could help provide sight saving surgery to a person every month. That’s up to 12 lives changed by you, every year.
Fund an eye camp
Your $50 a month can help fund a mobile eye camp in the most remote areas. These camps can provide hundreds of surgeries in a day to people who can’t normally access these services.
Train an eye surgeon
Your $100 a month could help train an eye surgeon – one eye surgeon can perform up to 1,000 surgeries a year. We are planning on training 67 surgeons this year but we can’t do it without people like you.
Help train an eye surgeon and keep Fred's promise
Donate NowFrequently 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 [email protected], 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.
