School raffle to help restore sight in Vietnam

Update 18 December, 2009: The raffle has been drawn and we are pleased to announce the lucky winner is:

J Hargreaves, Deniliquin NSW

More than 40 million blind people live in the developing world, with 3 out of 4 people living with avoidable blindness due to lack of access to simple treatment and routine surgery.

Over the past 15 years in Vietnam, The Foundation has helped train and equip hundreds of doctors to perform modern sight-restoring cataract surgery, expanding the program to all parts of the country.

Last year alone, The Foundation trained 3,067 eye health workers including 29 surgeons, eye screened 644,676 people, and conducted 18,932 cataract operations and sight restoring interventions.

Since 2006, Melbourne Grammar School has been an important partner in supporting The Foundation's work. A group of Year 10 students have travelled to Vietnam to witness first-hand how their fundraising has made a real difference to people's lives. The students observed cataract surgeries being carried out and talked with patients before and after their operation - thus witnessing the impact that such a simple operation can have on a patient and their family.

If anyone would like to assist with the raffle, tickets can still be purchased ($100 per ticket) by contacting our Melbourne office on (03) 9864 9369. The lucky winner will be notified by phone and announced on our website.

See how sight-restoring cataract surgery has transformed the lives of people in countries like Vietnam, Kenya, and Cambodia.