Orbis Macau kicks off eye health campaign with fundraising concert

The 2025 Orbis Action for Sight (AFS) campaign launched yesterday with the Starry Night Charity Music Performance, kicking off its nearly two-month advocacy and fundraising initiative to combat preventable blindness globally under the theme “Discover a Different Kind of Cuteness.”

The performance was held at the Macao Science Center Planetarium Dome, co-organized with the Macao Astronomical Society and the Emotional Music Together Band.

Featuring eight curated pieces, including “Castle in the Sky,” “Look for the Star,” “Star,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” “The Moon Represents My Heart,” “Suite of the Four Seasons,” “O Sole Mio,” and “Song of a Thousand Winds,” the concert included astronomical narration by Lei Chi-Fai, President of the Macao Astronomical Society.

Local drummer Zito Estorninho also performed with the ensemble.

Speaking to the Times, Orbis Macau director Isabel da Silva connected the cosmic theme to their mission. “Our ability to see allows us to appreciate the vastness and wonder of outer space,” she stated.

She added that due to the concert’s positive reception, Orbis is exploring a repeat performance to allow more people to attend.

Alongside the music performance, she noted that the organization conducts health talks and blindfold events in communities, including recent sessions at an international school in Macau focusing on digital eye strain.

The 2025 AFS campaign, running from October 9 to December 5, aligns with World Sight Day.

It aims to raise essential resources for Orbis’ sight-saving programs and sustainable training initiatives in low- and middle-income countries.

For more than forty years, support from donors, partners, and Volunteer Faculty members has enabled Orbis Macau to deliver ongoing sight-saving programs and sustainable training, empowering eye care teams in low- and middle-income countries with the knowledge and skills to save sight in their communities.

Recent impact data from 2024 highlight this legacy, with completed training for more than 38,000 eye care professionals and community health workers.

The organization’s outreach has included more than 2.2 million eye screenings and examinations at schools and community events, while also providing over 72,000 pairs of prescription glasses to improve quality of life.

Additionally, it has facilitated more than 53,000 sight-saving eye surgeries and laser treatments, alongside distributing over 8.6 million doses of antibiotics for trachoma elimination efforts.

Since 2010, Orbis Macau has organized the annual AFS to champion accessible eye care worldwide. Ricaela Diputado