Artists For World Peace on Broadway to Bring Eyecare to Tanzanians

Three internationally acclaimed organizations-Artists for World Peace, Lions Clubs International, and Vision Health International-are collaborating for the first time. This summer they will bring vision care to people in Tanzania through the creation of EyeDonated.org and the #EyeDonated campaign.

Eye care in some areas of Tanzania is nonexistent. The majority of the people from Kibosho-Umbwe, Tanzania and other areas of Sub-Saharan Africa suffer from preventable eye problems, which are most often caused by damaging sun exposure. Many adults and children develop cataracts, which can result in severe vision loss.

Through the #EyeDonated campaign, EyeDonated.org plans to create a beautiful, global image gallery to raise awareness of this issue and change how the people of Kibosho-Umbwe see their future. To start, they are asking people around the world to post beautiful images and tag them with #EyeDonated. They are also raising money to support the eye care initiative.

This summer, EyeDonated.org will be visiting the people of Kibosho-Umbwe and the surrounding area to provide eye care to as many as 1,000 people. They will make corrective eyeglasses and sunglasses, and perform cataract and glaucoma surgeries that will improve or restore sight. They also plan to connect the people of Kibosho-Umbwe to the #EyeDonated Global Gallery. "When they can see again, they will truly see how much people care about them through images and messages from around the world," says Wendy Black-Nasta of EyeDonated.org.

For EyeDonated.org, bringing vision care to Kibosho-Umbwe is just the beginning. And through word of mouth, they already have a generous supporter who will be matching donations up to a total sum of $75,000. Any and all contributions will make an impact, as cataract surgery costs about $60 in Tanzania.