The Orbis Raffle Charity Sale, one of Orbis Macau’s annual key campaigns aimed at its paediatric programmes, is on until June 30, with The Macau Post Daily having interviewed the non-profit non-governmental organisation’s (NGO) Director of Development and Executive Committee President Isabel da Silva on Thursday to learn more about it.
A cause for the children
The Orbis Raffle Charity Sale and one of Orbis’ monthly donation programmes (MDP), “Orbis Kid Sight Friend”, are dedicated towards raising money for its paediatric programmes, according to da Silva, with its other campaigns being for general fundraising to support its different sight-saving programmes and sustainable training.
She pointed out that children’s eyes are constantly developing. If issues are not addressed immediately or if one misses the “golden time” to act, it could lead to a permanent visual impairment or even a “more serious impairment or loss of sight”.
“That’s why for us, it’s very important to have an MDP and an annual raffle charity dedicated towards raising invaluable funds for our paediatric programmes and to allow us to create greater awareness on the importance of this life transforming work”, da Silva pointed out.
Helping children in developing countries without access to proper eye-care is therefore important as children play a vital part of the future, and having the ability to see opens up more opportunities for them to learn and thrive, da Silva said.
Meanwhile, as part of the campaign, Orbis Macau held its “Orbis Raffle Street Sale” on June 3 at the entrance of Pui Ching Middle School’ and other parts of the Horta e Costa area, as well as KHG at Nova Mall.
Around 80 volunteers supported the fundraising event, da Silva noted.
She added that this was the first time the activity had been held since the COVID-19 pandemic in Macau. Besides raising vital funds, the activity also aimed to enable more people to learn about Orbis Macau and its work.
Sustainable training is imperative
“Most people know of our Flying Eye Hospital and the sight-saving surgeries being carried out in different developing countries”, da Silva said. However, she emphasised that “sustainable training is the core of what we do, ensuring that quality eye care will prevent and treat avoidable visual impairments and blindness.”
She pointed out that training to obtain the necessary skills and know-how is imperative for the supporting eye professionals and ophthalmologists, from screenings through to surgical experience and skills. “We really believe in empowering the eye-care teams in these different communities where they might have very few resources or practically none in terms of eye care, to have the opportunity or to build on that capacity.
Da Silva added that this is all made possible through Orbis’ global network of strategic partnerships and Volunteer Faculty, which has over 400 members. The in-person and online training, together with the consultation support and mentoring provided on the Cybersight, Orbis telemedicine platform will eventually enable eye-care teams, from doctors and nurses in regional hospitals to district leaders and teachers in remote areas to do things on their own and help their own communities. “We want to give them more lasting help so that they themselves can help their community”, she underlined.
Spreading the word
Despite having a small team in Macau, da Silva said that they will continue to do more promotional and advocacy work to reach more people within the community to enable more people to learn about Orbis.
She hopes that people who already know and support them can help raise awareness about Orbis, while those who might have just heard of them can reach out to learn more, and can invite them to give presentations on Orbis’ cause, eye health and eye care tips, among others.
One can also support Orbis’ campaigns through their monthly donation programmes, which can help them better plan, and allow a steady flow of resources to come into their programmes, with da Silva noting that no matter the amount one gives, “It is support, which will all add up to make a huge difference to the lives of those in need of sight-saving help.”
For more information about the Orbis Raffle Charity Sale and how one can support Orbis Macau, visit https://mac.orbis.org/en.
This handout photo provided by Orbis Macau last week shows the “Orbis Raffle Street Sale” taking place at the entrance of Pui Ching Middle School on June 3.
