The Sumba Eye Program, established in 2007, is targeted at delivering eye care services to the people of Sumba and building the capacity of the local and regional health staff to provide effective eye care for the community in Nusa Tenggara Timur.
All donations to the Sumba Eye Program will be used to purchase the medical supplies and equipment needed to deliver cataract surgery, perform eye examinations and train local doctors and nurses.
Welcome to the Sumba Eye Program 2015 Video, view the work that the SEP team is doing in Sumba. ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— “The Other Side of Sumba” – Sumba Eye Program 2011
First week of April 2016 saw The Team head to Sumba for mentoring and teaching camp. Janine Hobson and Chris Katapodis (Optometrists) headed to Sumba and provided lectures and one on one teaching to Nefry,Sani and the Nurses from the Sumba Foundation. Mark Ellis, Peter Stewart and Peter Lewis detoured to Sulawesi – a large island north of Bali –... Read more
AUGUST VISIT 2015 696 people screened : many others screened in remote villages by the Optom/Hasanuddin University Teams 68 Cataract and Pterygium operations performed : 6/60 blindness or worse levels 605 spectacles dispensed Under much pressure to keep our equipment excess down we were not able to bring as many cataract operating kits and we had to leave behind a... Read more
Pictured are members of the RACS Team (Royal Australian College of Surgeons) . They work quietly behind the scenes ensuring that the SEP team can undertake their important work. L to R : RN Alison Plain (Head of SEP Nursing Team ) Sara Hudson, Stephanie Korin and Daliah Moss.... Read more
Alon Cohen and Rohan Gibbon from the RIMOPTICS Group of Companies standing behind the next shipment of ready made frames for OGS and bound for its’ Sumba Eye Program. From the first hand experience Rohan had while volunteering in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania he has seen the enormous benefit Eyecare Programs have in these areas which is why... Read more
Plans are well underway for our surgical/screening/teaching trip at the beginning of August. Heading to Sumba are Drs Mark Ellis AM, Jon Ruddle and David Workman,Optoms Pete Lewis OAM, Pete Stewart OAM, Norm Russo and newbie OGS awardee Andrew Thomas (ARST) from Adelaide, Theatre Nurses Alison Plain and newbie Virginia Holloway , Self Funded Volunteer Anne Lewis and Rotary Volunteer... Read more
Thank you to my amazing optometry friends Peter Lewis, Chris Katapodis, and Peter Stewart and the inspiring Mark Ellis for giving me the opportunity to experience Sumba and the beauty, humility and patience of the people. Sometimes in our busy world the ability to sit and wait is lost but I found the experience of the last week so... Read more
The Sumba Eye Program would like to thank all their loyal supporters for enabling the team to continue their life changing work in Sumba. Just returning from another successful visit, the team were very excited by the progress that the local SEP team nurses have made, allowing for an enormous amount of “one on one teaching” of refracting and pathology... Read more
Meet the team for the next visit to Sumba in early May. They will visit Kodi/Lamboya/Wanakaka and many other remote villages, continuing their work teaching the SEP nurses, testing eyes , screening and dispensing spectacles. Dr Mark Ellis AM Peter Stewart OAM Peter Lewis OAM Chris Katapodis Janine Hobson... Read more
Dr Mark Ellis AM is going to lecture at the Makassar University on Sulawesi and then join the rest of the team mid week in May, to continue the program’s work in Sumba. Dr Mark Ellis AM Ophthalmic Surgeon www.hawthorneyeclinic.com.au Mark has two Fellowships in Ophthamology ( FRANZCO and FRACS ). He is a member of The American... Read more
Both Peters will return to Sumba in May to continue the SEP teams successful program. They will be conducting clinics in Kodi/Lamboya/Wanakaka, as well as visiting many remote villages where they will test and assess many village people who cannot make it to the clinics. The teaching of the Sumba Foundation Nurses will once again be their priority as well as some... Read more
