Dear Peter,
It’s Gabi Hollows here.
Peter, this may be the toughest year any of us have ever faced.
I know that many of our supporters will be going through enormous family challenges, with disruptions to work and uncertainty about the future. I want you to know that I am with you - we will get through this.
Fred used to talk about ‘humanity’ a lot. He believed that the human race was like one big family, and that our similarities were greater than our differences.
This week would have been Fred’s 91st birthday. If he were here today, he wouldn’t want the focus to be on him. But he would be speaking out, louder than ever, with his message of kindness and shared humanity.
Fred’s life’s work was to restore sight. But his dream can be summed up in something he said the year that he passed away:
“I believe that the basic attribute of mankind is to look after each other.”
There are many things that are out of our control right now. But we can still control how we treat each other, especially the most vulnerable among us – locally, and around the world, in big and small ways.
I encourage you to join our community on Facebook.
We''ll be posting wonderful, positive stories about the people you have helped, the doctors and nurses you have helped train, and memories of Fred. We''d love to hear from you in the comments, let us know about the people in your community who are helping each other out. And you''ll hear back from us too. We''re here for you, and we''re in this together.
I also wanted to update you on the impact of COVID-19 on The Foundation. In the countries where we work, we’re seeing the COVID-19 health crisis unfolding on many fronts. Restoring sight to the needlessly blind in the midst of a global pandemic is an incredible challenge. We’re proud that our teams in countries like Vietnam, Kenya, Pakistan, Myanmar, The Philippines and China are helping to fight the virus and slow its spread.
From the eye surgeons, nurses and community health workers that you have already trained - thank you. Because of you, our Foundation is playing its part, is resilient and we will prevail.
If you need any further information about our work and what you can do to continue supporting The Foundation please visit our website for our full COVID-19 update. Your support means more now than ever before.
We are thinking of all of you, our wonderful supporters.
Please try to stay healthy and safe in these challenging times.
Sincerely,
Gabi Hollows, AO
Founding Director, The Fred Hollows Foundation |