As many know, after Fiona died from a brain tumour in 2007 we set up Fiona’s Eye Fund (www.fionaseyefund.com) to further her desire to improve eye care abroad (she was an ophthalmologist). We have funded lots of different trips and projects over the years but one of the main things we focus on is cataract operations – they are simply the most cost-effective way to make a difference to someone’s life by giving them their sight back in less than half an hour. Many of the people we operate on are completely blind.

Long story short we are doing a cataract camp in late February in Welkite in Southern Ethiopia. A team of 5 surgeons and 4 nurses will set up a surgical unit in a cottage hospital and operate flat out for a week. Usually on a camp they will operate on between 230-300 cataracts. The exciting thing this time is that if the team manages to do 242 operations then we will have completed 5000 cataract operations since we started the charity, many in Ethiopia but also in Nepal and in Myanmar refugee camps.

Camps cost at least £20,000 and our funds are running very low. We are therefore trying to raise £5000 for this trip, matching the total number of cataracts ops we hope to have done. One cataract operation costs approx. £75. Any funds donated go only to the costs of travel and medical supplies, the medics give their time for free and there are no admin costs in the fund.

We would be incredibly grateful for any donation to help us get to this £5000 target. Even better would be if you would like to set up a regular donation to help us continue our work. Our bank account is Fiona's Eye Fund SCIO; Sort Code: 83-21-05; Account no: 19247617. If you don't use JustGiving and donate directly please email fionaseyefund@gmail.com for a gift aid form.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.