About Us

Our mission is to use our amazing network of partners, supporters, staff and sector leading volunteers to empower local communities with the skills and resources necessary to fight blindness on their own. We work alongside eye teams in communities to provide training and guidance to leave a long-term eye care legacy that will restore vision for generations to come.

We build our networks on trust and commitment and seek to collaborate with corporate partners, fellow NGOs and local hospitals. We have made a promise to local eye teams to always strive for excellent, sustainable results that will suit their our local partners’ needs.

At Orbis we care deeply for the communities we serve. Whether they’re in Ethiopia, Vietnam or Peru -- our vision is to transform the lives of individuals, families and communities by helping lift them from the grip of blindness.

With the help of our amazing partners and supporters we’ve been a pioneer in the prevention and treatment of blindness for decades. Since 1982 we have conducted programs in over 92 countries and trained hundreds of thousands of medical professionals.

We have over 40 long-term projects around the world across countries including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Vietnam, Ethiopia, South Africa, Ghana, Zambia, Cameroon, Peru, Mongolia and Indonesia. Visit our Where We Work section for more information.

With the support of our partners we have trained hundreds of thousands of doctors, nurses, biomedical engineers and eye care workers since 1982. As a result we have positively impacted the lives of millions of men, women and children. In 2019, we have conducted 74 programs in 28 countries, more than 66,000 training for eye care professionals, and prescribed more than 183,000 glasses.

We work where the need for eye care is greatest and where we can do the most good, working closely with governments and health ministries.

We strive for excellence in everything we do - from our world leading volunteers to our state-of-the-art Flying Eye Hospital - and only the best training and practices will be passed on.

Find out more about our history and the people who who dedicate their lives to fighting blindness.