Ganga’s 60th Birthday

Restore sight as a present

As you may know, we’re throwing Mum a surprise 60th birthday! 🎉

She’s told us she doesn’t want any gifts but only if you insist on getting her something, she would really appreciate a donation to the Fred Hollows Foundation as her gift.

About their mission: They restore sight to people in some of the world’s poorest communities. Most cases of blindness are caused by cataracts, which can be fixed with a simple surgery that takes about 10 minutes.

Some of these surgeries can cost $25. The surgery involves three costs: 

1. the surgeon’s time (less than $1.50 per patient)

2. Basic consumables like bandages and anaesthetic (around $5)

3. The small plastic lens that replaces the cataract (as little as $4).

That lens used to cost $150, which put the surgery completely out of reach for millions of people. Fred Hollows changed that by setting up local factories in countries like Nepal and Eritrea to manufacture the lenses affordably. Local surgeons are paid local wages, and the same procedure that costs $5,000 in a country like Australia or New Zealand can be done for just $25 to change someones life. It’s a great self-sustaining model and every dollar goes a very long way. Times are tough, so any amount is appreciated!

Thank you so much! 💙