History
ORBIS was founded in 1982 with a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and a number of private donors. The first Flying Eye Hospital was a Douglas DC-8 (N220RB) donated by United Airlines. In its first two years of operation, the Orbis DC-8 visited 24 countries and held programs emphasizing the hands-on transfer of surgical skills.
By the late 1980s, as replacement parts for the aging DC-8 became more difficult and expensive to obtain, it became clear that a newer, larger aircraft was needed. Funded by private donations, ORBIS purchased its current DC-10-10 in 1992. The DC-10-10 contained twice the interior space of the original DC-8. After two years of conversion and renovation, it was placed in service in 1994, and the DC-8 was retired and donated to Datangshan museum near Beijing. That summer, the new Flying Eye Hospital took off on its inaugural mission to Beijing, China.
In 1998, ORBIS embarked on a new path based on the strategy to strengthen the capacity of local partners in the developing world to prevent and treat blindness through full-time, ongoing in-country programs. These programs were designed to respond to the needs of individual ophthalmic communities and local eye care providers. ORBIS selected the first initial five countries to work in year round based on need (magnitude of blindness), opportunity (local infrastructure and resources), and safety & stability to operate in-country.
ORBIS launched its first permanent country program in Ethiopia. Country programs in Bangladesh, China, India and Vietnam soon followed. In 2010 ORBIS established a country program office in South Africa. Permanent ORBIS offices in these countries, run by local staff, develop and implement an array of multi-year projects to improve the quality and accessibility of eye care to residents, particularly in rural area and impoverished urban communities. In addition to permanent country offices, ORBIS also engages in long-term program work in several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean as well is in countries including Nepal, Zambia, and Burkina Faso.
In 2012, ORBIS Celebrates its 30th Anniversary of Saving Sight Worldwide.
Read more about this topic: Orbis International
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