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Thursday, March 28, 2024

FedEx’s Orbis Flying Eye Hospital

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I enjoy traveling because it is therapeutic for me. Traveling, in my opinion, is a type of self-discovery and visual learning. Traveling to different countries allows me to observe their people, tourist attractions, cultures and traditions, which I believe is significant for me as a visual learner for overall human development learning.

“We live in a wonderful world full of beauty, charm, and adventure,” said Jawaharlal Nehru. “There are no limits to the adventures we can have if we seek them with our eyes open.” Traveling is to see and spend a few hours sitting alone in a park or on a busy street corner just watching day-to-day life happen in front of you. Slow down your thinking and focus on the details around you. It’s a type of meditation in which you’ll see a lot of things you’ve never seen before.

God has gifted me with the beautiful gift of sight, and I am grateful for it. Some people, however, can only envision things with their minds or cannot imagine at all since they do not have the gift of sight. Thirty-seven million people worldwide are blind, with the majority living in developing countries. This could be prevented for 28 million people if they received competent medical care.

I had the opportunity to volunteer for the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital Activity in our Clark, Pampanga site. FedEx helps children and adults in developing countries who suffer from cataracts and other curable forms of blindness get access to medical treatment from Orbis medical teams through volunteer pilots who fly up to a dozen missions a year for Orbis International, a nonprofit humanitarian organization.

The program will strengthen the delivery of eye care services in Central Luzon. Exposure to the visiting doctors and surgeons will improve the skills and knowledge of the local ophthalmic community in cataract, pediatric ophthalmology, orbits and oculoplastics, adult glaucoma and medical retina. This program is in partnership with the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Hospital and with support from the Central Luzon Society of Ophthalmology.

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I had a chance to tour the aircraft they were using, and the set-up amazed me. The plane is a fully equipped, flying hospital. The volunteer doctors are passionate about what they are doing. I volunteered because I believe there is still hope to prevent and cure blindness with proper medical care. I want to give hope for all blind people to see the world and experience its beauty and wonder. Orbis has been working for many years to improve the quality of ophthalmic services in the Philippines through different training programs and working to continue eliminating avoidable blindness. In addition, FedEx is sponsoring a fellowship to a promising ophthalmologist in the Philippines. This will enable commitment to delivering world-class healthcare.

Our eyes are called: “the windows to our soul.” Jesus taught us how our eyes reflect either spiritual light or great spiritual darkness within our souls. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness.” Matthew 6:22-23

This volunteering opportunity has been a blessing since I assisted those in need. It made me appreciate FedEx’s vast network. My fellow volunteers extended their whatever-it-takes mentality, imaginative energy and loving hearts to assisting us. I am grateful for this opportunity.

The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, DLSU. He can be reached at    lloyd_christian_diaz@dlsu.edu.ph.

The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.   

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