Stephen’s Heroic fundraising for Orbis

Stephen has been a supporter of Orbis for over 15 years. In that time, he has taken on some of the most challenging trail runs, marathons and ultramarathons available to runners. Through his incredible efforts, Stephen has raised an amazing £18,000, whilst also helping to raise awareness of Orbis across the world.

This year Stephen travelled to Switzerland to take part in the Eiger Ultra Trail, a 55km trail run across Mount Eiger. But not quite ready to pack his running shoes away, he also took on the Millet X-trail Courchevel, a 33km race across the French Alps. An incredible feat and two more races Stephen can tick off his list in his pursuit of challenges to support Orbis.

“It has been my personal goal to complete both races. But as an Orbis supporter it is also a chance for me to develop a deeper awareness of the work of the charity amongst my family, friends and acquaintances.”

Stephen knows first-hand the impact vision loss can have. His grandmother and both of his parents were treated for cataracts. “My father was diagnosed with a cataract in 2007, followed by my mother in 2016. They both received surgery a year after their diagnosis. I would accompany them both to their check-ups and monitor their progress before their surgery.

“Both had successful surgery. They were lucky, but for so many people living in low-and-middle income countries they may not receive the necessary treatment they need and may eventually go blind.”

“I wanted to support Orbis after finding out about their Flying Eye Hospital. It travels across the world to provide vital training to local eye care teams in low- and middle-income countries, building a lasting infrastructure in countries that need it.

“And by treating someone and preventing a life of avoidable blindness it means they can be self-efficient once again, return to work, and live a full life back home with their family.”

“When I had reached the highest point of the Eiger Ultra Trail I thought I had done all of the climbing and would start to descend. I was wrong. When I was descending, I would need to climb. Even close to the finish line I was still climbing. When I crossed both finish lines and was done and dusted, I felt relieved.

“Throughout both races, what had motivated me to keep going was the hope that every step I made contributed towards the work of Orbis.”

We are incredibly grateful to Stephen for taking on such incredible challenges for Orbis. He has already raised an amazing amount of funds for Orbis, but with your help he can reach his target.

“Together we can help Orbis restore vision to thousands of people, and bring back light, colour and joy to their lives.”