The butterfly spreads its wings: a charity operating theatre
Miranza is setting up a charity operating theatre with the Eyes of the World Foundation to fight avoidable blindness in disadvantaged areas of the world
At Miranza, we are committed to fight avoidable blindness in the most disadvantaged countries with the launch of a charity operating theatre with the help of the Eyes of the World foundation. The initiative, called “Alas de mariposa” (“Alas de Miranza”) (Butterfly Wings – Miranza’s Wings), aims to fund surgeries for vulnerable people in different parts of the world, such as the Sahara, Mozambique, Mali and Bolivia, by donating time and medical fees for eye surgery carried out at our centres.
Charity operating theatre with an impact on the world
With the “Alas de mariposa” (“Alas de Miranza”) (Butterfly Wings – Miranza’s Wings) charity operating theatre, we promote cooperation between the Group’s professionals to improve eye care in countries with fewer resources, where there are no treatments for diseases as common and treatable in more developed countries as cataracts. Our charity operating theatre is starting up as a result of this agreement and “Miranza ophthalmologists who wish to do so can join the project knowing that, thanks to the proceeds from each operation at one of our centres, together with an additional donation from Miranza, they will allow for the necessary resources to be acquired for local ophthalmologists in the areas where Eyes of the World operates to perform around 40 cataract surgeries”, explains Ramón Berra, Miranza’s general manager.
According to Dr Borja Corcóstegui, the president of the CLF (Clinical Leaders Forum), Miranza’s collegial medical management, as well as vice president and co-founder of Eyes of the World, “a surgery at a Miranza centre can become, in one month and thousands of kilometres away, an opportunity to restore sight to many people who are otherwise condemned to blindness.”
The ophthalmologists and surgical teams that join the charity operating theatre will offer their time and donate their fees in full to fund these surgeries, mainly cataract surgeries. For each of these individual donations, Miranza will also make a contribution, hence highlighting the Group’s commitment to people’s eye health and our support for the “Alas de mariposa” (“Alas de Miranza”) (Butterfly Wings – Miranza’s Wings) project. “It is a charity effect that, like the butterfly effect, makes small things great and crosses barriers and borders”, concludes the ophthalmologist.
Miranza’s charity projects
“Alas de mariposa” (“Alas de Miranza”) (Butterfly Wings – Miranza’s Wings) is the first charity initiative we are involved in in developing countries, after having promoted or participated in other cooperation projects with vulnerable groups, something that is deeply rooted in the Group’s values. In our two years of existence, we have worked with Adopta un Abuelo (Adopt a Grandparent) to improve the quality of life and visual health of elderly people living alone, a critical situation that is worsened by the current health crisis; we have offered help to other vulnerable groups through the SOS Vision Programme; we have paid special attention to people with Down’s syndrome, and we have signed an agreement with ONCE (Spanish Organisation of the Blind) to give preferential treatment to its members, among other charity initiatives.
With the charity operating theatre, we continue to make eye care accessible beyond our borders.
