Let’s make a real difference together

Founding Director of The Fred Hollows Foundation, an Order of Australia recipient and a skilled orthopist, Gabi Hollows, 62, talks to Over60 about the foundation she founded with her late husband Fred to continue his legacy – and reveals that community and charity have been instrumental is keeping it all alive.

When I look back on how much The Fred Hollows Foundation has achieved over the past 23 years, what really overwhelms me is how it was all made possible.

Since Fred and I established the Foundation to continue his good work, it has helped restore sight to more than two-million people in more than 25 countries, trained doctors, built hospitals, and made it possible to produce intraocular lenses cheaply, so in some countries sight can be restored for as little as $25.

Yet none of it would have happened if others hadn’t supported Fred’s mission to eradicate avoidable blindness in the world.

Fred believed it was our basic attribute to look after each other, and it is that level of compassion that I’ve seen in everyone who has supported the foundation and made Fred’s legacy what it is today.

Funds donated by the community are what make the foundation’s work possible, so whether it’s a six-figure sum, or someone selling pots of jam for $5, every contribution has an impact, and I value every one.

These efforts give charities the power to carry out their work, so it’s only when the community supports the foundation that it can support the community.

For this reason community fundraisers are the backbones of charities like The Fred Hollows Foundation. They are what keep it standing and make its mission real.

For The Fred Hollows Foundation, community fundraisers bring in around $4 million a year, and for a charity like this, which can restore sight for as little as $25, that goes a long way.

As is the case for many fortunate charities, there are several fundraisers held throughout the year to support the foundation. However for The Fred Hollows Foundation there is also one major event, Coastrek, which gives ordinary people the chance to raise much-needed funding.

Sydney Coastrek, a walking event organised by the Wild Women on Top, is now in its seventh year, and when it takes place on March 4, I’ll be there at 5.30am to fire the gun.

More than 3,700 trekkers will put on their walking shoes. I’ll wave them off at the start line as the sun comes up at beautiful Palm Beach as they head off on the 55km trek along the coastline to Balmoral Beach. Another 50km trek leads from Coogee Beach, and this year a 30km walk has been introduced, starting at Long Reef, after the success of a 30km route on our first Melbourne Coastrek in November.

Trekkers walk in teams of four including at least two women, and the experience is as much about working together as it is about personal achievement.

As trekkers take in the glory of the beaches, the beauty of the coastline and the magic of the bush, they will also cross challenging terrain, endure painful blisters, and suffer aches and pains, as they walk for up to 15 hours to the finish.

Many walkers have personal motivations for doing the trek. Perhaps they know someone who lost their sight to blinding cataract, or they want to eliminate trachoma among Indigenous communities in Australia – the last developed country where it still exists.

Some of the trekkers may have encountered Fred, like the man whose eyes Fred operated on and although he sadly lost his sight, he walks the trek each year with former Senator John Faulkner.

Then there are the heroes like Julie McCrossin, the popular comedian and broadcaster who battled throat cancer in 2013. She is a passionate advocate for the foundation, and walks Coastrek every year as a way of helping others.

I have watched all of my children, their partners, and extended family take part, and when I’ve seen them cross the finish line my heart bursts with pride. I am amazed by their achievements, and as with every trekker that crosses that line, I know how much their contribution means.

Every team that competes needs to raise at least $1600, which can employ a lid surgeon in a country where he can help thousands of people to see.

The intraocular lens factories in Nepal and Eritrea, have made it possible to restore sight in some countries for as little as $25. These lenses, made to the highest standard for approximately $7, are used in other developing countries to restore sight to hundreds of thousands of people.

Every little bit counts.

Coastrek inspires an amazing cross-section of the community and the efforts of every single person and their support crew simply blow me away.

Thank you for helping us to keep Fred’s dream alive.     

Gabi Hollows is Founding Director of The Fred Hollows Foundation. An extraordinary woman, Gabi is a national treasure, an Order of Australia recipient, a skilled orthopist and the champion of The Fred Hollows Foundation. She married Fred Hollows in 1980 and they had five children together. Together they established the Foundation, and she has devoted herself to it since.