Dear Friends of JFF,
It takes less than 20 minutes to restore someone’s sight. Yet for many people across Indonesia, that moment may never come. Cataracts remain one of the leading causes of preventable blindness, yet the surgery to treat them is simple and highly effective. The challenge is access. Many people living in remote communities cannot reach hospitals, afford treatment, or even receive a diagnosis.
Unless the care can come to them. For the remainder of 2026, the offshore clinical teams of the John Fawcett Foundation will be travelling to areas where eyecare is needed most — including parts of Java and the eastern parts of Indonesia.
Through these offshore programs, we aim to screen more than 23,500 people and restore sight to over 2,600 individuals.
Delivering eyecare remotely is an enormous undertaking, but an important one for the communities in need. Each offshore program involves travelling between islands — often by ferry, boat, or plane — mobilising teams of doctors and staff and transporting vital equipment and medicine. Temporary facilities must be set up and operated over several days to provide services not only to a specific location, but also to surrounding regions, villages, and communities.
What may appear to be a simple deployment of mobile clinics, with the JFF team arriving to provide eyecare services, is in reality a complex and carefully coordinated effort to reach thousands of people who would otherwise remain without access to care — people who have spent years unable to see clearly, waiting for the chance to regain their independence and reconnect with the world around them.
Yet, many are still waiting. Today, we ask for your support. Help us take eyecare to where it’s most needed.
Your contribution will help make these offshore programs possible — bringing sight-restoring care to communities that would otherwise remain in darkness.
For someone who has been waiting in darkness for years, those 20 minutes can bring their world back into light.
Warm regards,
Professor William Morgan
Chairman,
The John Fawcett Foundation – Australia
