Special-edition, Congolese-inspired TOMS Shoes
We're teaming up with Giving Partner Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI), an advocacy and grant-making organization founded by Ben Affleck, on two Congolese-inspired designs with an additional give. Read More >>
TOMS x charity: water - An Eyewer collaboration
TOMS and charity: water, an organization founded in 2006 (like TOMS!) that’s dedicated to to helping bring clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations, join forces for the first-ever TOMS Eyewear collab! Read More >>
Giving TOMS Shoes in the DRC
Founded by Ben Affleck in 2010, ECI is an advocacy and grant-making organization that works with and for the people of DRC, the third most populous country in Africa, and one that struggled under a cycle of violence for nearly 20 years – particularly in the east. Read More >>
- Category:
Partner Profile: Seva Foundation, Cambodia
Seva Foundation, TOMS’ lead Sight Giving Partner, began work in Cambodia in 1998 because hundreds of thousands of people were blind or visually impaired, and there were no schools to train ophthalmologists.
The loss of sight means a loss of independence and ability to attend work or school, increasing the burden on families. More than 80% of the blindness in Cambodia is either preventable or curable, but the vast majority of Cambodians do not have access to quality, affordable eye care.
Today, Seva works with government hospitals in three provinces of Cambodia to bring essential eye care services to the most vulnerable populations, including rural communities, women, and children. It supports the training of local ophthalmologists and other eye care professionals and works with the eye department at government hospitals to increase both the access and quality of eye care for patients in impoverished communities.
“Together, our work has created a demand for eye care services and has contributed to the sustainability of eye care systems within Cambodia,” Seva Foundation shares.
With the support of TOMS Eyewear purchases, Seva has been able to expand its reach into underserved communities through the training and development of fieldworkers, who ride out into remote areas on their motorbikes to identify people needing eye care and bring them to eye care providers.
TOMS support also provides medical treatment, prescription glasses, and eye surgeries to patients who cannot afford to pay for care. The TOMS + Seva partnership has allowed Seva Cambodia to serve more people in need of eye care, and it has impacted the lives of individuals, their families, and communities.
Vann Ratana, Seva Cambodia’s Program Manager tells us, “When I see a patient have his eye patch removed after surgery and he can see again, the patient is very happy…and I am also very happy.”
