Orbis International, the nonprofit announced its renewed partnership with the Swiss watchmaker OMEGA, which will provide the organization with $2.5M over the next five years. The generous support will bolster Orbis’s work to train eye care teams in areas with the greatest need so they can provide quality care to patients.
OMEGA has been a proud supporter of Orbis since 2011, when it became a Global Corporate Partner. Through avid support of the Flying Eye Hospital – the world’s only fully accredited ophthalmic teaching hospital on board an MD-10 plane – OMEGA has helped Orbis in its mission to mentor, train, and inspire local teams so they can save sight in their communities.
Raynald Aeschlimann, President and CEO of OMEGA said, “It’s an honour to extend our partnership with this life-changing organization. For more than a decade, OMEGA has been witnessing the incredible work of Orbis, who embrace our own values of innovation, pioneering spirit, and meaningful change. We look forward to continuing our support of this vital mission.”
OMEGA also works in cooperation with its brand ambassadors – including Daniel Craig, Cindy Crawford, and others – to increase awareness of Orbis and its mission. As part of two insightful documentaries, Craig and Crawford participated in Orbis programming in Mongolia and Peru, respectively, witnessing firsthand the life-changing work of Orbis. Additionally, OMEGA provides cuddly teddy bears to all young patients undergoing treatment on Flying Eye Hospital.
Most recently, OMEGA was the Title Sponsor of a first-of-its-kind training project held on board the Flying Eye Hospital in Doha, Qatar, for women in eye care from conflict-affected areas. Ophthalmologists and nurses from Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen took part in simulation training using cutting-edge technology available on the Flying Eye Hospital. Simulation training ensures that each step normally taken when treating a patient can be safely practiced as many times as needed, growing confidence and skills that the participants can take back to their countries. The project – which was the first in-person training conducted internationally on the Flying Eye Hospital since the start of the pandemic – was launched under the leadership of, and thanks to, Qatar Fund for Development and Qatar Charity. Additional partners assisting the project included Qatar Airways, Qatar Executive and Hamad International Airport, which provided on-the-ground support.
Last year, OMEGA was the exclusive Title Sponsor of a virtual Flying Eye Hospital project that trained ophthalmic nurses across Mongolia on treatment for cataracts, the leading cause of blindness in the country, and globally, despite being treatable with an operation that can take as little as ten to fifteen minutes. In 2020, Orbis reimagined in-person Flying Eye Hospital training as virtual ones to ensure that eye care teams could still access critical training safely during the pandemic. With the plane now returning to in-person programming, the virtual model Orbis developed is being used in conjunction with in-person training, a concept is known as “blended learning,” to ensure that participants can maximize the time with their mentors, continue their education after the plane leaves, and more.
