Another fire victim.
GLOBAL BLINDNESS - A PREVENTABLE TRAGEDY
FACT: Every 5 seconds a person in the world goes blind.
FACT: Every minute a child in the world goes blind.
FACT: Two out of three blind people in the world are women and young girls.
FACT: 90% of the world’s blind people live in developing countries.
FACT: Three quarters of global blindness is treatable or preventable.
As an optometrist and documentary photographer, I am very much aware and concern about the problem of blindness in the world. It is estimated that the number of blind people in the world will increase from 45 million today to 75 million by 2020. This website show cases images from one of the African programs that SEVA Canada supports in the pursuit of fulfilling the goals of Vision 2020, the global initiative for the elimination of avoidable blindness, and the battle for gender equality in eye care.
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SEVA Canada
www. Seva.ca
WHO WE ARE - OUR MISSION
Seva Canada Society was founded in 1982 to eliminate preventable blindness and restore sight.
Seva provides funding and expertise to partners in 7 developing countries: Nepal, Tibet, India, Tanzania, Guatemala, Cambodia and Egypt - to deliver community and clinical eye care programs that reach the most vulnerable populations – women and children, the very poor and those living in rural areas.
Seva (pronounced say-va) is a Sanskrit word for service; we believe in compassion in action.
Through our partners, Seva is creating sustainable, economically viable, locally managed eye care programs that will continue to serve local populations long after Seva’s involvement is complete.
GLOBAL BLINDNESS - A PREVENTABLE TRAGEDY
FACT: Every 5 seconds a person in the world goes blind.
FACT: Every minute a child in the world goes blind.
FACT: Two out of three blind people in the world are women and young girls.
FACT: Ninety percent of the world’s blind people live in developing countries.
FACT: Three quarters of global blindness is treatable or preventable.
As an optometrist and documentary photographer, I am very much aware and concern about the problem of blindness in the world. Over the next decade, the need for effective global blindness prevention and treatment programs will become increasing urgent as the number of people in need is rapidly outstripping the eye care services available to them. It is estimated that the number of blind people in the world will increase from 45 million today to 75 million by 2020. Even more disturbing is the fact that two out of three blind people in the world are women and young girls, with most of them living in areas of developing countries where they have limited access to sight restoring services.
In Oct. 2008, I was able to work with SEVA Canada documenting one of their eye care projects in Africa. Seva Canada is a non profit organization which provides funding and expertise to partners in developing countries to create “sustainable, economically viable, locally managed eye care programs that will continue to serve local populations long after Seva’s involvement is complete”. The SEVA back program of Helping Africa Help Themselves founded by Dr. Paul Courtright and Dr. Susan Lewallen in 2001 is based at the Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology (KCCO). Not only does KCCO provide outreach eye care programs to rural area, it has become a major teaching and research hospital and resource center for Western Africa. Their program on gender equity is unparallel in the region.
The website is a compilation of images of the programs that SEVA Canada supports around the world in the pursuit of fulfilling the goals of Vision 2020, the global initiative for the elimination of avoidable blindness, and the battle for gender equality in eye care.
To license this work for editorial, creative, or other uses, click on the OZMO logo above.
This will take you to the Ozmo website where you can review the cost and license for the photographs in this exhibit.
You will need to create an account with both Amazon payments and with the Ozmo website as described on the Ozmo website.
www.kcco.net
The Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology (KCCO) was established in Moshi, Tanzania in late 2001. The KCCO is dedicated to the elimination of avoidable blindness through programs, training, and research focusing on the delivery of sustainable and replicable community ophthalmology services. It is committed to:
Elimination of avoidable blindness through the integration of programs, training, and research focusing on the delivery of sustainable and replicable
community and ophthalmology service.
Building the capacity of eastern Africans to provide high quality eye services to meet the needs of the population.
Developing internationally recognized educational programmes.
Developing a teaching and research environment that promotes health care
measures beneficial to Tanzania and surrounding countries.
KCCO is co-directed by Dr. Paul Courtright, and Dr. Susan Lewallen.
The KCCO exists as a centre within Tumaini University's Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College (KCMC).
Kilimanjaro Centre of Community Ophthalmology (KCCO)
Seva Canada Society
100-2000 West 12th Ave.
Vancouver, BC V6J 2G2
www.seva.ca
Larry Louie
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
larryylouie@shaw.ca
www.larrylouie.com
