ESCRS RAISES €66,400 FOR CHARITIES

Since the beginning of 2011 the ESCRS has donated a total of €66,400 to ORBIS and Oxfam. In addition to donations from the society, this amount has been raised through donations from delegates at the annual meetings in 2011 and 2012. “I would like to thank delegates and members for their generosity in helping us to raise this figure and I hope that they will continue to donate generously at our future meetings,†said ESCRS president Peter Barry. All the funds donated are being divided equally between ORBIS and Oxfam for the specific charitable initiatives selected by ESCRS. At the XXX Congress in Milan, representatives from ORBIS and Oxfam shared a booth to create awareness of their initiatives.

Paediatric Eye Care Unit

ESCRS is contributing funds to an ORBIS project to establish a Paediatric Eye Care Unit in Gondar University Hospital in Northern Ethiopia. The contribution is helping to fund the training of Dr Mulusew Asferaw and Dr Asamere Tsegaw in the subspecialties of paediatrics and retina. The ESCRS funded both doctors to attend the XXX Congress of the ESCRS in Milan in September 2012 and Dr Yared Assefa, the head of the Ophthalmology Department, also attended the congress. “It is still very early days but a lot of progress has been made in putting the proper structures in place to develop a fully functional paediatric eye care service at Gondar Referral Hospital in order to serve the eye care needs of the local population,†Allan Thompson of ORBIS told EuroTimes.

Oxfam WASH Programme

ESCRS is also supporting the Oxfam WASH programme in Uganda. As part of this public health project in the Kitgum and Lamwo districts, 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. Oxfam is working with district staff, subcounty staff and communities to consolidate all the achievements of the last four years, since communities are starting returning to their villages of origin. These achievements are being built into an overall Community- Based Water Resource Management system that complies with the national operation and maintenance policy and will enable the government and people to take responsibility for their own water and sanitation needs and performance in the future. Oxfam Ireland's chief executive Jim Clarken said: 'The generosity of ESCRS members and the ESCRS Board has delivered real change to the communities of Kitgum and Lamwo. By supporting Oxfam and our partners in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion (WASH) project, ESCRS has provided effective and sustainable water sources as part of a major investment in public health,' he said.

Continued support

ESCRS president Peter Barry said that while a lot of good work already had been done, it was important that the society continued its commitment to ORBIS and Oxfam. “Charitable initiatives are very important for the society and our support of ORBIS and Oxfam has been very rewarding,†said Dr Barry. “I am delighted to confirm that this support will continue for the next two years.†There will be further opportunities to donate when delegates register for the 17th ESCRS Winter Meeting in Warsaw in February 2013 and the XXXI ESCRS Congress in Amsterdam, or by donating directly through the ESCRS website at: www.escrs.org/charitable-donations.