ESCRS President pledges suppport for Orbis and Oxfam projects

[caption id="attachment_951" align="alignright" width="400"] ORBIS/Oxfam support-team at ESCRS Vienna[/caption] The president of the ESCRS, Peter Barry, has pledged to continue the society’s support for the fundraising projects organised by ORBIS and Oxfam. “Charitable initiatives are very important for the society and our support of Oxfam and ORBIS has been very rewarding,†said Dr Barry. “I am delighted to announce our continuing support for the ORBIS and Oxfam projects for a further two years. A total of €33,500 was donated to the two charities in 2011. Funds were initially raised from delegates when registering for the 15th ESCRS Winter Meeting in Istanbul, Turkey and the XXIX ESCRS Congress in Vienna, Austria. Additional funds were raised from a raffle at the Vienna congress. The ESCRS Board also pledged to donate an additional €25,000 from the society’s funds. The amount donated to each charity in 2011 was €16,750 and new activities are already being planned for 2012.

Oxfam in Uganda

The donation to Oxfam is supporting a public health project in the Kitgum and Lamwo Districts of Uganda which will provide safe water and sanitation, and so contribute to improved health and education in both communities. [caption id="attachment_952" align="alignright" width="400"] ORBIS: Dr Mulusew Asferaw (who is the ophthalmologist who will be trained on paediatric ophthalmology with the money raised through the ESCRS partnership) doing some initial paediatric examinations at the new hospital[/caption] “Oxfam has continued to strengthen the services provided by local government and build the self-reliance of households who returned to their villages after the two-decade conflict ended. There is still a significant amount of work to do, but the region feels to be truly in a development, rather than a humanitarian or recovery, context,†said Lyndsey Rice of Oxfam. She also thanked ESCRS members and the ESCRS Board for their continuing support of the programme. The money raised by ESCRS will help Oxfam support district water officers who will assess, train and certify a cadre of 150 hand pump mechanics. This will help ensure communities have access to prompt, reliable and affordable maintenance and repair services. A District Water Quality Laboratory, including a motorcycle, will also be provided so that samples can be taken and analysed from water sources throughout Kitgum and Lamwo.

ORBIS in Gondar

The money raised for ORBIS is assisting the organisation to provide specialist training in paediatric ophthalmology for Dr Mulusew Asferaw at the Paediatric Ophthalmology Department at the Gondar Referral Hospital in Ethiopia. Additionally Dr Fisseha Admassu has been selected for Glaucoma training. ORBIS has committed to work with Gondar University Hospital to establish a Child Eye Health Tertiary Facility (CEHTF) for North West Ethiopia. “This will provide children with access to high-quality eye care, which in turn will contribute to a decrease in childhood blindness and low vision in North West Ethiopia,†Allan Thompson of ORBIS told EuroTimes. [caption id="attachment_953" align="alignright" width="400"] Oxfam: Water being collected from a water kiosk – part of the motorised water system in Padibe East Sub-County[/caption] “The money raised by ESCRS has helped us to recruit and train doctors from the region to work on the project, so thank you so much to all ESCRS members for making this possible†said Mr Thompson, “and we are delighted to announce the commencement of the training programme with Dr Asferaw and Dr Admassu.â€

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