Dear friends of SEE,

There is a quote by the Dalai Lama, “just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects.” At SEE, we talk a lot about the ripple effect. We believe that every action can have far-reaching effects because we witness it constantly in our work. Restore sight to one person, and you also change the lives of those around them. For those loved ones, caretakers of all ages who can return to school or work, the impact of a sight-restoring surgery changes the future for an entire family.

We are able to create this impact thanks to our many donors, volunteers, and global partners. Together, we cared for more than 94,000 patients around the world and right here at home, including more than 38,000 patients who received sight-restoring surgeries. New international clinic sites included Piura in Peru, Ebeche in Chad, and Bacolod in the Philippines, where 1,200 patients received care, including more than 400 surgeries, at Cadiz District Hospital. One of those patients was Joanaly Laniohan – watch Joanaly’s inspirational story here, at SecondSight.SEEintl.org, and you will see what we mean about the ripple effect.

There are millions of people in the world who would be able to see again if they only had access to essential eye care. That is why SEE is committed to filling in the missing piece to provide access to vision care and support the development of sustainable in-country systems. We work with our partners to identify their priorities and needs, and together we are able to create a plan to maximize our impact. Collaboration like this enabled SEE to increase the number of patients who received surgical care by 43% from last year. In 2018, SEE held more than 200 programs in 45 countries – every day of the year, there was a SEE team providing care somewhere in the world.

SEE’s work also creates lasting impact through education and capacity building, training more humanitarian volunteers and working with partners for year-round change in their home countries. In 2018, we held 32 training courses where 189 doctors learned the surgical skills they need to provide vision care to patients around the world. SEE is helping to educate and empower the next generation of humanitarian ophthalmologists. In regard to sustainability, we established our first V2020 LINKS-USA initiative to create the first residency program in Rwanda, through which SEE partners at the Rwandan Institute of International Ophthalmology (RIIO) and Wills Eye Hospital, the top ophthalmology residency in the US. This work provides training those who can provide care today and lays the foundation for those who will follow in the fight against avoidable blindness.

There are millions of patients and families who still live with avoidable blindness. Thanks to our donors, volunteers, and partners we have transformed the lives of our patients, caretakers, families, and communities with hope and joy through the gift of sight. Through your support, we can both continue and increase the sight-restoring work of SEE International as we pursue together a future in which no one is needlessly blind. If a single pebble can create ripples, together, we can create a wave.

With gratitude,

Randal Avolio, President/CEO