The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital
Here’s a sight for sore eyes, so to speak: Omega and Orbis International recently held an exclusive tour of the Flying Eye Hospital, the first time the airborne ophthalmic volunteer clinic has been open to a Singapore audience.
Attended by Orbis medical volunteers, philanthropists and friends of Omega, the well, eye-opening tour was an insider’s glimpse into the noble work done by members of the world’s only airborne, fully-equipped, state-of-the-art surgical and training facility.
Explaining Orbis’ raison d’etre, Omega Vice President of Southeast Asia, David Ponzo said: “Approximately 284 million people are visually impaired worldwide. Out of these, 1.4 million children under the age of 15 are blind and 80 percent of blindness is treatable and preventable.”
“About 90 percent of the world’s visually impaired live in developing countries; this also means that an adult goes blind every five seconds and a child goes blind every minute. This is why fighting preventable blindness around the world is such an important mission, and why the work done by Orbis is so admirable.”
In a poignant, hard-hitting reminder of the wonders of sight, guests were also treated to a light show projected on the exterior of the Flying Eye Hospital: a plane-cum-clinic that has rendered medical care to more than 12 million individuals in 88 countries since its founding in 1982.
Guests also got the chance to view the Hour Vision Blue, a special edition wristwatch created by Omega in support of Orbis. The fine Swiss manufacture has pledged to donate a minimum of a million U.S dollars from its sale to Orbis International over the next four years.
The OMEGA Hour Vision Blue
As for the gorgeous timepiece above, the Hour Vision Blue wristwatch – its brushed dial the cobalt blue of wide open skies – boasts a classic 41 mm stainless steel case and comes equipped with OMEGA’s signature Co-Axial caliber 8500. In a nod, perhaps, to the importance of “seeing”, the movement can be viewed through the see-through sapphire crystal caseback.
Other nifty accents: the Hour Vision Blue has 18 Ct white gold faceted hour, minute and second hands coated with white Super-LumiNova, and features a date window at 3 o’clock.
Head over here if you’ll like to find out more about the work Orbis does – and endeavor to do something good before the year ends!
Orbis Flying Eye Hospital Medical Crew
Guests being treated to a tour of the Flying Eye Hospital Tour
The OMEGA Orbis Flying Eye Light Show
David Ponzo, Omega Vice President of Southeast Asia
