Speaker - John Miles (Global Sight Solutions)

Rotarian, John Miles from the Rotary Club of Guildford is a trustee of the charity Global Sight Solutions. Global Sight Solutions was originally known as the Guildford Rotary Eye Project but formally adopted its current name in 2018.

Global Sight Solutions runs an avoidable blindness programme aimed at establishing eye hospitals in parts of the world where treatment for eye conditions would not otherwise be readily available. They treat such conditions as cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration. This is done with a local Rotary Club in each area, who are responsible for each area, who are responsible for starting and overseeing the project locally. Each hospital is set up as a separate entity with its own body of trustees. Global Sight Solutions helps with funding, advice and practical support.

The eye hospitals are run by local specialists and staff. This is easier to arrange in countries like India, which trains its own eye surgeons, than it is in others. In African countries, in particular, specialist training has to be arranged.

The charity was founded in 1994 and opened the first hospital in 1998. There are now hospitals in a number of countries, including Bangladesh, India, Lebanon and Nigeria. During their latest trip to the Indian subcontinent and Africa, John and his wife Fiona visited a number of local Rotary Clubs to discuss establishing eye hospitals in their areas. As a result they hope that it will be possible to establish at least another 15 eye hospitals in those places.