THE Fred Hollows Foundation has thanked the Swan community for their continued generosity and support last year.

In 2024, the foundation has seen 76 new donors from Swan support their work, with 925 locals in total donating $240,542 to help the charity restore sight to people living with avoidable blindness around the world.

Demonstrating their community spirit, Western Australian residents have donated an incredible $3.4 million so far this year.

Founding Director Gabi Hollows expressed her gratitude to the Swan community for supporting the foundation’s important work.

“Unfortunately, avoidable blindness is increasing globally, but we know that nine out of 10 cases of blindness and vision impairment are preventable or treatable,” Ms Hollows said.

“We can do something about it. The Fred Hollows Foundation has restored sight to more than three million people and we won’t stop until we achieve our mission of ending avoidable blindness,” she said.

“We wouldn’t be able to restore sight to as many people here in Australia and around the world without the generosity of our community.”

Chansouk, an imaginative girl from Lao PDR, regained her sight thanks to life changing surgery.

When she was just two years old, she was on the verge of blindness after suffering from a traumatic eye injury from a nearby fire.

Chansouk’s family sought help at Oudomxay Eye Hospital, where Dr Senglar Laosern, who was trained by the foundation, diagnosed her with a cataract in her right eye. With only four eye doctors for every million people in Lao PDR, many children like Chansouk remain untreated.

Dr Senglar and visiting physician Dr Phatoumphone, who was also trained by the foundation, performed successful surgery on Chansouk, bringing joy to her mother Nam.

“I would like to thank all the nurses and doctors, and The Fred Hollows Foundation,” she said.

Now aged nine, Chansouk loves maths and dreams of becoming a doctor, just like Dr Senglar.

Chansouk’s sight restoration journey highlights the critical need for eye care in Lao PDR and the life-changing impact it can have on young lives.

Last year, The foundation performed more than 4.3 million eye screenings, distributed more than 6.8m doses of antibiotics for trachoma and ran education sessions for more than 5.6m adults and children globally.    

In Western Australia, the foundation partners with several organisations to improve access to eye care in regional areas including the Kimberley and Pilbara region.

For more information about The Fred Hollows Foundation or to help restore sight, visit www.hol lows.org or call 1800 352 352.