Singapore Annual Report & Financial Statements
Financial Year ended 31 December 2015
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WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE DO
At Orbis we transform lives by preventing and treating avoidable blindness and visual impairment. There are 285 million people in the world who are blind or visually impaired, yet 80% can be treated or cured.
Providing access to quality eye care is one of the most cost-effective ways to reverse the cycle of poverty. We do this by providing on the ground training for local eye health professionals, supporting and equipping eye health centres around the world and through advocacy and research.
Of the 39 million blind people in the world, 90% live in developing countries. This is why we focus our efforts in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Project Orbis International Inc. (Singapore) Ltd. is an affiliate office of Project Orbis International Inc. headquartered in New York, U.S.A. with 15 offices worldwide. Orbis Singapore raises financial and medical resources to support our blindness prevention work in Asia.
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Contents
WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE DO 2
WELCOME 4
WHY VISION? 5
OUR GLOBAL IMPACT 6
OUR WORK 7
ASIAN HIGHLIGHTS 8
SINGAPORE HIGHLIGHTS 12
THANK YOU 18
CHARITY INFORMATION 19
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 23
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WELCOME
DEAR FRIENDS,
2015 was a year of laying down the foundation for growth in Singapore. Singapore is our newest global office which opened in 2014 to serve as a resource development base in Asia. Singapore successfully secured new funding for a landmark National Childhood Blindness Project in Bangladesh and inducted new board members this year. We also added one full-time staff and will grow to a team of 3 in 2016.
With a strategy to actively engage corporate partners and corporate sponsors with our sustainable, high impact blindness prevention work across Asia, Orbis began building potential long term relationships in 2015 with hopes that they bloom in the coming years.
Developing quality eye care services in developing countries take time, commitment and great effort. Developing the right corporate partners to support quality eye care capacity building similarly takes time. We will continue to build our corporate and medical partnerships this year. Ultimately, these efforts in Singapore will help improve access to eye care across Asia and help us reach the goal of eliminating avoidable blindness where it is most common.
On behalf of everyone at Orbis, we thank you for your support as we grow in Singapore and bring vision to many more.
Orbis Singapore Board Khoo Seng Thiam Prof. Donald Tan Dato’ Kulasegaran Sabaratnam Norman Liu
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WHY VISION?
VISION EMPOWERS VISION IS A CATALYST VISION IS WITHIN REACH
Access to quality eye care Improved vision sparks a We look to a future where is one of the most effective powerful ripple effect, communities around the and cost efficient paths for spreading positive world have sustainable reversing the cycle of benefits from one person eye care infrastructure poverty. Preventing and to his or her family, from and trained eye care treating visual impairment one eye care professionals – and we empowers individuals. It professional to an entire know that together we can allows them to become hospital, and from one make this vision a reality. more active in their neighborhood to an community and to entire community contribute more fully to transformed. their family and their society.
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OUR GLOBAL IMPACT
Our results since 1982
92 COUNTRIES SERVED
23 MILLION LIVES IMPROVED
925,000 EYE SURGERIES/LASERS PERFORMED
325,000 MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS TRAINED
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OUR WORK
ADVOCACY. TRAINING. RESEARCH. These three elements are the building blocks of Orbis’s main goal: building capacity in the places we work.
We define capacity building as the development of adequate eye care health infrastructure, trained staff, and resources to provide sustainable, quality eye care. This is the core of what we do and how we work to transform lives.
In Singapore, we focus on advocacy to raise awareness about avoidable blindness and garner resources needed for our eye care capacity building work in Asia.
For a full overview of our work, please refer to our Global Annual Report at www.orbis.org.
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ASIAN HIGHLIGHTS
BANGLADESH, with a population of To prevent avoidable childhood blindness, 160 million, has a high prevalence of Orbis is implementing the National blindness. Children constitute almost 42% Childhood Blindness Project (NCBP) with multiple partners under the government’s of the Bangladesh population. There are “National Childhood Blindness Reduction about 67 million children in the country. Program”. This five-year national level The majority of the population live in rural project is aimed at increasing access to areas. quality eye care for the children of Bangladesh in order to prevent and reduce childhood blindness. The NCBP The prevalence of childhood blindness in will establish a nationwide quality pediatric Bangladesh is 0.75/1,000 children, based eye care service network through 10 on World Health Organization estimates. pediatric centers that will cover at least Around 51,200 children are blind, of which 50% of the children of Bangladesh. 31% are due to cataract which can be cured by surgery. It is estimated that for In 2015, a donor who has requested for every one million people in Bangladesh, anonymity, committed to supporting the there are 300 blind children, of which establishment and operations of a new around one third (100 children) are blind child-friendly pediatric eye center at an from cataract. Children who are blind have Orbis partner hospital under the NCBP. The donor’s support for 2 years will make to overcome a lifetime of emotional, social available quality pediatric eye care and economic difficulties which affect the services in an underserved region to child, the family and society. prevent avoidable blindness and uncorrected refractive error among children.
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Volunteers from 5 Deutsche Bank Asian offices lend Orbis their interpretation skills in Hanoi, Vietnam 9
THE FLYING EYE HOSPITAL is a At the local hospital and on board the fully equipped mobile teaching hospital plane, DB volunteers were deployed as and an Orbis icon for preventing interpreters and also assisted with blindness. On the outside, the plane is like logistics. From interpreting patient most other aircraft. Inside, it’s like no other education to communicating with airport – it hosts an ophthalmic hospital and authorities, the Deutsche Bank volunteers teaching facility right on board. worked their language skills.
The support from Deutsche Bank and On board the aircraft and in local other key sponsors enabled 196 children hospitals, the Orbis team and Orbis and adults to receive eye screening, and Volunteer Faculty provide hands-on 87 patients to be treated in Hanoi. training to convey the latest medical knowledge to help local eye care 41 local medical professionals received professional treat patients and address hands-on surgical training and a further the leading causes of blindness in their 291 Vietnamese nurses, biomedical communities. In 2015, our Flying Eye engineers and technicians were trained during the Hanoi program. Hospital held programs at two locations in Vietnam – Hanoi and Hue. This is the second consecutive year that Deutsche Bank has sponsored a Flying With a sponsorship from Deutsche Bank, Eye Hospital program in Asia and the Hanoi Flying Eye Hospital program in provided local language volunteers. We May to June 2015 benefitted from the thank Deutsche Bank for their enduring priceless service of a dozen Deutsche support and look forward to working with Bank staff volunteers. their enthusiastic volunteers in 2016.
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SINGAPORE HIGHLIGHTS
3 - 4 MARCH 2015 – Standard vision, the hardship of the blind, and Chartered Bank sponsored and provided reminds students to cherish their eyesight. much needed volunteers for two Orbis The Blindfold Lunch and interactive Blindfold Lunches held at Parkview games also helped the students to gain a Primary School in March. The Blindfold sense of empathy for those who are blind, Lunches were a novelty for the Primary 5 far beyond their classroom walls. students and the excitement and enthusiasm of the students was palpable. A total of 145 students participated in the Blindfold Lunches facilitated by about 30 The Orbis Blindfold Lunch provides Standard Chartered Bank volunteers. primary school students with an opportunity to experience the loss of
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8 APRIL 2015 – Orbis helped to Moderated by Professor Donald Tan, facilitate a Singapore Eye Care Gaps SNEC Senior Consultant and Orbis Roundtable Discussion hosted by the Singapore board member, the session Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) probed key gaps in the Singapore eye and Standard Chartered Bank in April. care service system and discussed This discussion which included possible ways to close these gaps. participants from Capitol Optical, Essilor Vision Foundation, Essilor Singapore, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Luxottica Singapore, Health Promotion Board, and
Standard Chartered Bank’s Seeing is Believing initiative.
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OCTOBER – Orbis marked World Sight Singapore landmarks to challenge people Day 2015 with a series of teaser to think about what they would miss most postcards and an online awareness if they lost their eye sight – even for just campaign, which “blindfolded” six iconic one day.
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12 OCTOBER 2015 – As part of World experienced the life of a blind person for a Sight Day celebrations, Orbis conducted brief 60 minutes. an “adult” version of the Blindfold Lunch for Standard Chartered Bank staff at their Deprived of their key sense of sight, the Marina Bay Financial Centre office. participants explored the use of their other senses through a series of games and More than 100 participants spent their went back to work with a greater entire lunch hour blindfolded in darkness understanding of common eye diseases. without a single peek at their meal, and
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29 – 30 OCTOBER 2015 – Loyang Staff volunteers from FedEx Express Primary School students got a taste of spent half a day at the school facilitating blindness with the help of a corporate brunch and games for more than a neighbor. hundred Primary 6 students.
FedEx Express sponsored an Orbis The FedEx volunteering effort was part of Blindfold Brunch at this school close to FedEx’s global staff volunteering initiative their office. “FedEx Cares”.
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THANK YOU
Our vital work is made possible through our donors, volunteers and partners. Thank you!
GIFTS OF $1,000 & MORE GIFTS OF TIME
Anonymous Allen & Gledhill Canon Singapore Clifford Chance Deutsche Bank AG Singapore Deutsche Bank Asia staff FedEx Singapore FedEx Express Singapore staff GE Capital Aviation Services staff Joanne Tan GE Foundation Luke Tan – Tomatoes Pictures Mahawar family Lee Jun Lei Standard Chartered Bank Michael Chiang Standard Chartered Bank staff
GLOBAL CORPORATE
PARTNERS
Alcon FedEx Fondation L’Occitane OMEGA Pfizer Ronald McDonald House Charities Standard Chartered Bank United Airlines
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CHARITY INFORMATION
INCORPORATED AS Project Orbis International Inc. (Singapore) Ltd. (a Company Limited by Guarantee) on 4 Dec 2013
UNIQUE ENTITY NO. (UEN) & 201332607E CHARITY REGISTRATION NO.
CHARITY REGISTRATION 2 Dec 2014 DATE
REGISTERED ADDRESS 352 Tanglin Road, #02-03 Tanglin International Centre Singapore 247671
Effective: BOARD OF DIRECTORS Khoo Seng Thiam Managing Director 4 Dec 2013 FedEx Express
Dr. Donald Tan Senior Advisor Singapore National 4 Dec 2013 Eye Centre (SNEC)
Dato’ Kulasegaran Lawyer 23 Jun 2015 Sabaratnam
Norman C.T. Liu Chairman 1 Dec 2015 GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS)
KEY POSITION HOLDERS Amy Tan Director 1 Jul 2013
BANKERS The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
AUDITORS BDO LLP
CORPORATE SECRETARY Tricor Singapore Pte Ltd
FINANCIAL YEAR 1 January – 31 December
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CHARITY INFORMATION
CHARITY OBJECTIVE Project Orbis International Inc. (Singapore) Ltd. (“Orbis Singapore”) is formed exclusively for charitable purposes, and not for pecuniary profit or financial gain. The purposes for which the Company is formed are to organize, administer, manage, staff, operate an itinerant medical project for the exclusive purpose of exchanging, sharing, teaching and demonstrating the latest surgical and medical techniques on a non-profit and worldwide basis, especially in the field of ophthalmology, but nothing herein shall authorize the Company, directly or indirectly, to engage in or include among its purposes the operation of a health or health related facility, a school of medicine or the practice of medicine.
Orbis Singapore is an affiliate office of Project Orbis International Inc. headquartered in New York, U.S.A. with 15 offices worldwide.
RELATED ENTITIES
Name of related party Relationship with the Company 1 Orbis International (Headquarters in New York, USA) International Office 2 Orbis Hong Kong International Office 3 Orbis Shanghai International Office 4 Orbis Bangladesh Program Office 5 Orbis Beijing Program Office 6 Orbis Ethiopia Program Office 7 Orbis India Program Office 8 Orbis Vietnam Program Office 9 Orbis Africa Affiliate 10 Orbis Canada Affiliate 11 Orbis Ireland Affiliate 12 Orbis Macau Affiliate 13 Orbis Singapore Affiliate 14 Orbis Taiwan Affiliate 15 Orbis United Kingdom Affiliate
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CHARITY INFORMATION
FUNDING SOURCES & FUNDRAISING ACTIVITY Orbis Singapore raises funds for its blindness prevention programs in Asia and elsewhere through private contributions from corporations, foundations and individuals. It does not receive any Singapore government grants. Orbis Singapore did not hold any public fundraising events in 2015.
RESERVES POLICY Orbis Singapore will ensure a reserve of approximately six months of operating expenses so that the company will have sufficient capital to meet any outstanding commitments and tide over any unbudgeted costs or unexpected shortfall in income.
REVIEW OF FINANCIAL STATE Orbis Singapore received charitable contributions of cash and gifts-in-kind totaling $286,895 for the financial year ended 31 December 2015. Due to unexpected delays and changes in donor plans, cash-only charitable contributions in FY2015 were below budget by 49%. Expenditure for the year was 10% below budget. As a result, Orbis Singapore ended the year with a net deficit of $134,536.
STAFFING As at 31 December 2015, there were 2 full-time employed by Orbis Singapore. Orbis Singapore plans to hire one more full-time staff in 2016.
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CHARITY INFORMATION
FUTURE PLANS AND COMMITMENTS
New Flying Eye Hospital Orbis launches the new third-generation Flying Eye Hospital in 2016. Our plans for 2016 and 2017 will revolve around this new teaching hospital as it takes to the skies and trains more medical professionals in developing countries to prevent and treat blindness.
Orbis Singapore plans to secure both volunteers and corporate sponsors for the new Flying Eye Hospital’s maiden medical programs in China and Indonesia in 2016. Medical volunteers from Singapore serve as master trainers or what we call Orbis Volunteer Faculty. Non-medical corporate volunteers provide their language interpretation and logistics skills on boar d the Flying Eye Hospital and at Orbis partner hospitals in the local country.
The Flying Eye Hospital is expected in Singapore in December 2016. We will take this opportunity to engage corporate partners, volunteers, donors and other supporters to celebrate this state-of-the-art tool which combines the best of medicine with aviation. Orbis Singapore will be staging special events and plane tours to mark the occasion.
2016 Focus Areas Cybersight, Mongolia and Vietnam are three focus areas in the coming year. We aim to raise awareness of these programs locally and seek resources either in-kind or cash to advance our sight saving mission. .
Cybersight is an Orbis-backed online ophthalmic consultation and mentoring platform. 1,600 mentors and mentees have used Cybersight to improve eye care for more than 13,500 patients in 140 countries so far. Orbis is in the midst of an ambitious 5-year program to create a scalable and sustainable vision care network in Mongolia, which covers the capital and five rural provinces in this huge nation. The vision care network in Mongolia will provide services from basic vision screening to complex pediatric surgical procedures. In 2016, Vietnam will launch in a new program to address diabetic retinopathy in a rapidly growing number of diabetic adults in the underserved Mekong Delta region.
Singapore Activities In Singapore, Orbis will expand the reach of its well-received Blindfold Lunches for primary school students with the support of corporate volunteer facilitators. We will also expand the reach of the 60-minute Blindfold Lunch for Adults to more new corporate supporters.
Volunteers play an important role in supporting Orbis’s medical and non-medical work. The support from volunteers helps us to reduce administrative costs, Singapore will kick start formal quarterly volunteer briefings in 2016 to recruit and induct new volunteers.
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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
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Photos are courtesy of:
Geoff Bugbee
Joanne Tan
Luke Tan
Project Orbis International Inc. (Singapore) Ltd. 352 Tanglin Road #02-0. Singapore 247671 UEN & Charity Registration No. 201332607E
www.orbis.org T: 65.6479.5875 F: 65.6479.1805 E. [email protected]
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