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Marking World Sight Day last Thursday, blindness prevention charity Orbis is giving people the opportunity to venture inside their unique Flying Eye Hospital; via a fully immersive, 360
degree virtual reality tour.
The tour can be experienced on your phone (with or without VR goggles) or on a computer screen.
There are 285 million people in the world who are blind and visually impaired, and 80 per cent of them don’t need to be. The majority of these people live in developing countries, where
access to quality eye care is scarce.
Orbis transforms lives by working to eliminate avoidable blindness, through long-term programmes on the ground, alongside its Flying Eye Hospital - the world’s only eye hospital on board
an MD-10 aircraft.
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Take the Tour - |
During the virtual tour, the viewer can direct themselves around the aircraft, making their own way through the various sections of the plane including the operating theatre and patient
recovery room as well as the on-board classroom. Viewers will get a glimpse into how the plane helps Orbis save sight, and enables a global volunteer team of the world’s most highly
regarded ophthalmic experts to train local medical professionals; helping to break the cycle of poverty by delivering quality eye care to thousands of people that struggle to access
appropriate treatment. The virtual tour has kindly been created pro-bono for Orbis by Charles Mansfield-Osborne from virtual tour and VR photography company
StreetVisit.
The first Orbis Flying Eye Hospital took to the skies in 1982. Over the years it has visited 78 countries and helped Orbis to reach hundreds of communities around the world: training
thousands of doctors and nurses and providing life-transforming treatments. It’s also a powerful tool for advocacy and has hosted a number of world leaders, including Mother Teresa and
Fidel Castro.
In June 2016, Orbis unveiled its brand new ‘Third Generation’ Flying Eye Hospital. More than six years in the making, this unique aircraft- will enable Orbis to have an even greater impact,
preventing many more people from going needlessly blind.
The Flying Eye Hospital is set to touch down in London in March 2017.
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