Simply Helping and The Fred Hollows Foundation

Simply Helping is delighted to officially announce our partnership with The Fred Hollows Foundation.

“To my mind, having care and concern for others is the highest of human qualities.”
– Fred Hollows

We believe in giving back to our community and helping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in gaining equal access to eye health care and treatment. Together, we will make a lasting impact on Australia’s First Peoples and achieve our goal of closing the gap on eye health.

The Fred Hollows Foundation and Simply Helping see a world in which all Australians exercise their equal right to good health.

About Fred and The Fred Hollows Foundation

Fred Hollows graduated from medicine and specialised in ophthalmology. After experiencing firsthand the poor standard of health in Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, Fred dedicated his life to driving change for better access to eye health and living conditions for Indigenous Australians. His passion did not stop at local borders. Visits to Nepal, Burma, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh, motivated Fred to find a way to reduce the cost of eye care and treatment for those in developing countries. In later years, despite being diagnosed with cancer, Fred was determined to keep pushing for change in the countries he cared deeply about. Fred and his wife Gabi established the Fred Hollows Foundation to ensure his work would continue well into the future.

In Australia, The Fred Hollows Foundation is focused on ensuring no Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Person is needlessly blind or vision impaired.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are three times more likely to go blind than other Australians. 94% of this blindness and loss of vision is preventable or treatable. The Fred Hollows Foundation works tirelessly in remote communities to deliver surgery and medical treatment for cataract, refractive error, and diabetic retinopathy, and to eliminate trachoma. The Foundation also coordinates and improves outreach services to ensure that everyone who needs medical care receives it. To support independence, the Foundation helps to strengthen Aboriginal Community Controlled Health organisations to deliver culturally appropriate services to their own communities, and provides training to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health staff.

Working Together

Together, the Fred Hollows Foundation and Simply Helping aim to close the gap in eye health and improve the equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

“I’m an optimist, always, that the world can be a better place.”
– Fred Hollows