Orbis UK is an international sight-loss charity.

Globally 1.1 billion people live with avoidable blindness, and 90% of it is avoidable. Tom Davies is a proud ambassador of Orbis, an international charity that has brought medical experts, funders and the public together for the past forty years to fight avoidable blindness.

As pioneers, they seek to make eye care available everywhere, for everyone, so no one has to experience the consequences of avoidable blindness.

With over 70 long-term projects around the world spanning 13 countries such as; India, China, South Africa, Peru and Zambia – they are achieving their mission of mentoring, training and inspiring local teams so they can save sight in their communities. In 2021, over 3.6 million eye screenings and examinations were conducted thanks to Orbis.

Orbis’ why is simple: they believe that no one should live a life of unnecessary blindness simply because of where they were born. They continue to fight this with their network of partners. Orbis mentor, train and inspire local teams to fight blindness in their communities with the support of corporate sponsors like Tom Davies.

At the forefront of Orbis’ revolutionary mission is their one-of-a-kind Flying Eye Hospital. Unlike any plane on the planet, the Flying Eye Hospital has promoted better eye care worldwide for four decades. It boasts a classroom, an operating room with the latest medical technology, and an audiovisual room to broadcast and connect with people worldwide, delivering over 36,000 training sessions in 2021.

Over the last 17 years, the brand The House of Tom Davies  has unwaveringly supported Orbis as a charitable partner in various ways, including; fundraising, supporting charity initiatives and donations. This long-standing partnership first started in 2005 by placing collection tins in their store and continues to this day with Tom’s infectious energy and enthusiasm, where we continue to propose new ways to support Orbis. Orbis, much like The House of Tom Davies, is changing the way the world sees.

Tom’s relentless personal support of Orbis saw the designer choose Orbis as the beneficiary charity of his DADA eyewear design competition to support their Vision for Zambia appeal in 2015. Tom also donated spectacle frames to Orbis-supported Vision Centres in Zambia, pledged communications support during the planning stages of Orbis campaigns and provided introductions to suppliers. Tom has also created acetate frames with encapsulated space dust from planet Mars pictured here, which was auctioned off, with all proceeds going to Orbis.

In 2017, Tom donated equipment and volunteered time to enable Orbis to create 360 footage for social media. He brought members of The House of Tom Davies team to see the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital at Stansted, bringing his colleagues closer to the work he hopes to support even more in the future.

Thursday 13th October marks World Sight Day! You can change a life today by giving a one-off or monthly donation, fundraising to Orbis, or even just sharing one of their tweets. You can find more information about their World Sight Day campaign, See the Light here. We encourage you to donate what you can to Orbis here.

The Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation is a restricted fund operating under the auspices of Prism The Gift Fund, registered UK charity number 1099682.

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