Eyewear designer races for Orbis

Tom Davies with Orbis CEO, Rebecca Cronin, before the Great Ethiopian Run

A team led by eyewear designer Tom Davies took on Africa’s biggest road race and raised over £80,000 for blindness prevention charity Orbis.

A team of 11 runners braved high altitude and heat to raise vital funds for the charity’s sight-saving work across Ethiopia.

On 23 November, Tom Davies, who is an Orbis UK ambassador, joined forces with 10 other volunteers for the Great Ethiopian Run in the capital, Addis Ababa.

The run is an annual 10km road race set 2,300m above sea level. This year, it attracted 50,000 participants, making it the largest of its kind in Africa.

More than 8.8 million people in Ethiopia live with some form of vision loss, and around 780,000 are completely blind. The team spent time learning about the charity’s work, visiting an eyecare unit in Hawassa, a region where Orbis has helped to strengthen child eyecare and train eye specialists. 

They also heard about Orbis UK-supported work in Gedeo, where nearly 3,000 adults had eye surgery in 2025. More than 2,000 adults and children were given glasses, and expanded outreach and hygiene facilities helped tackle the infectious eye disease trachoma. 

Millions of doses of antibiotics have been distributed to prevent avoidable blindness and 7,800 people had surgery for advanced cases of the disease. 

Tom said: “Seeing someone regain their sight is the most powerful transformation I’ve ever witnessed. When you help someone see again, you don’t just change their life and future; you change the life of everyone who loves them. That’s the real power of Orbis. Their progress in Ethiopia shows what’s possible when people come together.”

Mandy Pope, head of major gifts at Orbis UK, said: “We are so grateful to our dedicated team for taking on the Great Ethiopian Run – a tough race in hot, high-altitude conditions – and visiting our work on the ground in Ethiopia to see the impact of their support first-hand. The funds they raise will provide life-changing eyecare in Ethiopia, giving children and adults the chance of a brighter future.” 

Find out more about opportunities to take on challenges and raise funds at Orbis events.