The Gift of giving Sight.
Half of Cambodians who are blind don't need to be!
Cambodia Vision is an Australian not-for-profit, non-government organisation established in December 2006_ The project aims to work with small provincial towns in regional Cambodia, focusing on the treatment and prevention of blindness and providing basic medical healthcare.
Since 2007, we have deployed a team of surgeons, nurses, optometrists, orthoptists, anaesthetists, general practitioners, pharmacists and other volunteers into a rural area of Cambodia in order to perform cataract surgery and provide free medical care.
As an entirely volunteer organisation, operating solely on sponsorship and community support, our program service to organisational expense ratio is greater than 95%. That means that less than 5% of the donations we receive are spent on administration, management and account keeping. Our Australian and Cambodian volunteers donate their time and expertise and pay their own costs and expenses, and we are supported by the Rotary Club of Liverpool West and Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWC).
Cambodia has one of the highest incidences of preventable blindness in the world. Visual impairment can reduce self-esteem and independence. Around 65% of our patients are female and live well below the poverty line. They are unable to earn income to feed their family or perform household chores because of their condition. Many feel that they are burdening their family and attempted to commit suicide due to this disability.
Our vision is to help the underprivileged in Cambodia restore eyesight where they are needlessly blind and to enjoy the same health and life expectancy as other humans in the modern world. We aim to give the gift of sight to the poor in rural Cambodia who suffer from preventable blindness largely due to cataracts. Without our help, they would have no means to pay for their eye tests or vision correction.
By restoring their sight, Cambodia Vision is able to not only give them their independence back but also improve earning capacity for their family and community and therefore improve their living standard.
Our wonderful artists who showcase their work in our rooms have agreed to donate 25% of the sale price of their ART to this essential cause.
Our own Dr Lisa Cottee has been and still is a frequent volunteer in Cambodia, giving her time, expertise and hands-on skills, to operate on the poorest of the poor. This is both challenging and rewarding. Dr Cottee as all the volunteers self-fund their own flights and expenses.
Eye Doctors Mona Vale is proud to support Cambodia Vision