Help us celebrate Sightsavers Ireland’s 20th birthday!

As part of our anniversary celebrations, will you help us provide an extra 2,000 cataract operations this year?

Young girl Luyando smiles while chasing bubbles outside her home.

In 2003, Sightsavers Ireland was born. And over the past 20 years, thanks to contributions from our amazing supporters, we’ve achieved some remarkable things.

With your support, we’ve helped to eliminate trachoma in five countries: Ghana, The Gambia, Malawi, Benin and Mali. What’s more, your gifts have helped to fund more than 5 million sight-saving cataract operations for people like Luyando, pictured above.

Yet there’s still so much we want to achieve in the next 20 years, and we want to kick things off in a big way. Our 2,000 Eyes appeal aims to raise enough money to fund an extra 2,000 child cataract operations before the end of 2023.

Below, you can track the progress of our appeal and watch as we get closer to our target. You’ll also find resources and stories for you to enjoy, including a quiz on the recent 20-year history of Ireland.

Be sure to keep checking back on this page: we’ll keep it updated with progress towards our appeal goal and new stories for you to enjoy.

Last updated at 14:11 on 18/12/2023. The total is updated twice a week so we can check all donations are valid. The target is based on the average cost of one child cataract operation, which is approximately €108. More info

819 operations

funded of our 2,000 target

40.95%

0 days to raise

€128,000

DONATE €108 Or donate another amount

Did you know?

Trachoma, a debilitating eye disease, wasn’t eliminated in Ireland until the mid-20th century. For more facts about the disease and Sightsavers’ work to tackle it, read our timeline of trachoma history.

Read the timeline

More from our 20th anniversary celebrations

Take on the 20 years of Ireland quiz

A song named after an Irish city, an architectural achievement, the first settler in Ireland and more. Put your general Ireland knowledge of the past 20 years to the test.
Take the quiz

Thank you from Sightsavers Ireland

In March, we asked you to send in messages about why you support Sightsavers Ireland. After receiving more than 600 responses, we wanted to reply and say thank you.
Read our messages

Participants on the First Light for Sight Arctic expedition poses for a group photo while wearing skis.

Our Arctic expedition saw the first sunrise of 2023

A team of Irish fundraisers who took part in the First Light for Sight Arctic challenge have raised more than €90,000. Read the full story to find out what it was like.
About the challenge

About the appeal and our totaliser

Our ‘2,000 Eyes’ fundraiser will run from 21 August until 31 December 2023. During this time, we’ll be adding up online donations to our appeal and displaying the total on this page. Our goal is to raise €216,000, which is equivalent to the cost of 2,000 cataract operations, but all donations will be used to support our life-changing work wherever the need is greatest.

One-off donations are included at their face value (eg €10 donation = €10 displayed on this page), and regular gifts are included as the value of 12 months’ donations (eg €5 donation a month = €60 displayed on this page). We will update the information in the totaliser twice a week while the fundraiser is running, to give us time to validate donations. Thank you.

Help give the gift of sight to more children like Luyando

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We protect sight, fight disease and make sure everyone can claim their rights.

Find out how your support can make a huge difference and change lives.