Situated in the rural Eastern Cape at Zithulele Hospital near Coffee Bay, is a group of people who have devoted themselves to restore sight, dignity and life. Their aim is to reduce the prevalence of blindness and low vision in the rural communities of the Eastern Cape. This service is provided free of charge. By July 2019, Grace Vision has screened over 100 000 patients, of which about 63 000 are school children. They have performed 1 723 Cataract Surgeries and distributed 12 023 pairs of prescription glasses and readers.
It is estimated that around 400,000 South Africans are already blind. Approximately 240,000 of these people are blind from cataracts (official estimation). The number of cataract cases is increasing every year, and those suffering mostly cannot afford procedures to correct them. Nearly 80% of cases of blindness are preventable or treatable with medical interventions. A growing number of children with treatable vision impairments do not have access to the treatment they need. It is Grace Vision’s mission to change these statistics.
Grace Vision is a Section 21 Company and largely dependent on donations to support their stellar efforts.

“The implementation of the Grace Vision Rural Eye Care Programme has brought new levels of eye care service to the rural community south east of Mthatha. The year 2014 saw the ongoing sustainable outreach into the communities who had lost all confidence in the existence of government eye care procedures. The number of patients daily who come for eye examinations and treatment has in some cases increased five-fold. We have achieved one of our objectives, which was to re-establish confidence in the community that reliable eye care could be possible.” John Rae – Chief Executive Officer
“Some days are long and tiring, with lots of travelling on very rough and rugged dirt roads. Yet, it’s always rewarding and worth it to know that you have just attended to people’s eyes that would have no eye care due to their remote rural locations. Charlotte and I are blessed to be working with an incredible team of dedicated people. We look forward to seeing many more lives impacted by God through Grace Vision.” Don Thorrold – Optometrist and Programme Manager
LEFT: Lwazi, 17 years old, sees clearly for the first time and learns to read. Make a life-changing donation today:
Grace Vision
Standard Bank Blue Route
Branch Code 025609
Account No. 072051604
Contact:
Tel: +27 21 715 4944 | Email us: info@gracevision.org.za
www.gracevision.org.za