This July, something extraordinary is landing in Kigali: the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital, a one-of-a-kind aeroplane that doubles as a fully equipped teaching hospital.
In the busy heart of Kigali, Rwanda, a little girl called Moon is about to get a new start, thanks to her grandmother, Francoise and an eye hospital onboard an aeroplane.
Not long after Moon started walking, Francoise noticed something was wrong with her eyes. Although Moon wasn't in pain, Francoise knew it was only a matter of time before Francoise faced serious difficulties, because she had the same eye condition - strabismus.
Strabismus, often called a “squint,” causes the eyes to point in different directions. It can impact confidence, and without treatment, vision.
Francoise could see well – but living with strabismus was still challenging. She grew up feeling self-conscious. She remembers people calling her “the one with the eye problem.” Sometimes people would even mimic her eye when talking. It was a reminder that she was being treated differently.
Francoise grew up without the care she needed – and she refused to let history repeat itself. For her granddaughter’s sake, she decided to seek help.
When Francoise heard that Orbis’ Flying Eye Hospital was coming to Kigali, she jumped at the chance to get help. Not just for Moon, but for herself too.
“I always wished I could get my eye corrected” she said. “So, I thought, why not now?”
Both grandmother and granddaughter had surgery with Dr Lucy Barker, a UK ophthalmologist who was volunteering with Orbis for the first time as a surgeon onboard the Flying Eye Hospital. But Francoise made sure Moon went first.
“As a grown-up I can handle it” she said. “But she’s still little. It can all feel strange and scary”.
The results of the surgeries? Life-changing.
“She’ll grow up happy, fine and confident,” Francoise said. “She won’t feel different. She won’t ever wonder what's wrong with her.”
Francoise once dreamed of becoming a nurse. Life took her in another direction, but the heart of a carer has always been there.
“Being treated by people who are experts and so happy to help me… it’s made a mark on me,” she said. “I’m so grateful.”
Stories like Moon’s don’t happen by chance. They happen because people like you choose to give. Orbis trains local eye teams, shares world-class skills, and brings eye care to places where it’s needed most.
But there are more children still waiting.
The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital officially touched down in Kigali on 18 July 2025, launching a historic two-week training project to help strengthen eye care across Rwanda.
Over the weekend, our dedicated team got straight to work converting the aircraft into a fully equipped teaching hospital ready to train local doctors, nurses, anaesthetists and engineers in the latest eye care techniques.
Week one, generously supported by the Alcon Foundation, began on 21st July with a focus on simulation training. Using virtual reality tools created by Orbis and FundamentalVR, Rwandan teams are safely practising cataract surgery, the leading cause of blindness in the country.
Doctors are developing their skills in two key techniques: manual small-incision cataract surgery, which is widely used in low-resource settings, and phacoemulsification, a more advanced method.
At the end of the project, these state-of-the-art VR tools will be donated to Rwanda International Institute of Ophthalmology, so that future generations of eye care professionals can continue learning long after the plane has departed.
We are incredibly grateful to the Alcon Foundation, our Title Sponsor for Week One, whose long-standing partnership has made this life-changing work possible. From donating essential supplies through Alcon Cares, to providing critical funding through the Alcon Foundation, their support helps power these projects.
We'd also like to say a big thank you to our supporters, without whom, none of this would be possible.
From July 21 to August 1, 2025, Orbis is training local doctors and nurses to prevent blindness and improve vision across Rwanda. This marks Orbis’s first-ever project in Rwanda and the 84th country the Flying Eye Hospital has visited since its first flight in 1982.
Rwanda has just 30 eye doctors for a population of 13 million. Most health workers are based in cities, leaving rural areas with limited access to care. Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness, yet 30% of people referred for surgery can’t get treatment, and only half of those who need glasses have them.
Many eye problems in Rwanda are preventable or treatable. But with low public awareness and few specialists, millions still struggle with poor vision. That’s why it’s crucial to continue our work, and why the Flying Eye Hospital’s first visit to Rwanda marks a powerful milestone and opportunity to usher in a new era of eye care.
During the visit, Rwandan eye care teams, including doctors, nurses, and other health workers will get hands-on training from international experts. The focus? Treating common but serious eye problems like cataracts and strabismus.
Workshops will also cover more complex treatments for people with injuries or damage to the back of the eye.
Pic of warrior seymour with caption: Seymour the Bear, Orbis's mascot, wears traditional attire used by Intore in Rwanda's ceremonial warrior dance, to celebrate the Flying Eye Hospital's inaugural trip to the country. Once reserved for royalty, the dance is now performed at national celebrations and cultural events.
One of the most exciting parts of this project is the use of virtual reality (VR) to teach eye surgery. With these tools, doctors can safely practise removing cataracts, a clouding of the eye that is one of the world’s leading causes of blindness, before treating real patients. This kind of training helps build confidence, improve surgical skills, and reduce risks during live operations. It means patients are more likely to have better outcomes, and more people can get the safe, high-quality care they need.
Orbis will equip local teams with a VR training device, allowing them to continue learning and improving their surgical techniques well into the future.
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Together, they've trained eye health professionals and introduced powerful technology to help detect diabetic eye disease a condition that can lead to blindness if left untreated. Diabetic retinopathy is a serious complication of diabetes and a leading cause of blindness worldwide.
Thanks to Cybersight AI, an Orbis tool that uses artificial intelligence, doctors in Rwanda can now detect diabetic eye disease in just minutes instead of hours. In countries where health resources are stretched, faster diagnoses mean more patients can be seen, treated, and followed up before their sight is permanently damaged. This kind of technology helps doctors catch problems early, when treatment is most effective, and gives more people the chance to save their vision.
Thanks to the support of Orbis volunteers, partners, and donors around the world, we’re helping more people see a brighter future.
Our life-changing work would not be possible without the generous support of our partners and volunteers. We want to thank our expert Volunteer Faculty for donating their time and expertise to teach, mentor, and guide local teams.
We also want to give an enormous thank you to this project’s corporate sponsors, Alcon and OMEGA.
Alcon has been a trusted partner of Orbis for more than 40 years, providing in-kind donations through Alcon Cares and monetary donations through the Alcon Foundation to support the Flying Eye Hospital and partner hospitals around the world.
OMEGA has been a proud supporter of Orbis since 2011. OMEGA is an avid supporter of Flying Eye Hospital projects and works with its celebrity brand ambassadors to increase awareness of global eye care.
Want to help bring sight to more people around the globe? Donate today to support Orbis’s work.
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