Our history

Sightsavers has been changing lives and restoring sight worldwide since 1950.

A historic black and white photo with Sightsavers founder Sir John Wilson and his wife Lady Jean surrounded by staff and children from Akropong school in Kenya.

Meet our founders, Sir John and Lady Jean Wilson

Read their story

Sightsavers through the years

1931

Schoolboy John Wilson is blinded by an explosion during a school chemistry lesson. In the next decade, he goes on to study law at Oxford University and gets a job at the National Institute for the Blind.

1946

John embarks on a nine-month tour of Africa and the Middle East, and is shocked at the scale of blindness and the conditions in which he finds blind people living. He returns to the UK determined to do something about it.

1950

Sir John founds the British Empire Society for the Blind – the original name for Sightsavers. In its first year, the society forms national organisations for blind people in six countries, concentrating on education, rehabilitation and welfare.

1957

A doctor examines a girl's eyes in India in the 1950s.

The organisation changes its name to the Commonwealth Society for the Blind and is given royal status by the Queen a year later, becoming the Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind (RCSB).

1969

A team from the RCSB climbs Mount Kilimanjaro, accompanied by seven blind men from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The aim is to encourage blind children to go to school by demonstrating what they can achieve, and marks Sightsavers’ first inclusive education project.

1971

The organisation moves from London to a new head office in Haywards Heath, West Sussex. The Queen attends the ceremony and officially opens the new building, named Commonwealth House.

1986

Children’s TV programme Blue Peter launches its ‘Sight Saver’ appeal, raising more than £2 million for eye care across Africa. The Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind subsequently adopts the title Sightsavers.
Read about Blue Peter’s work with Sightsavers

2012

A mobile phone being used to collect data.

Sightsavers leads a consortium to set up the Global Trachoma Mapping Project (GTMP), which uses mobile phones to collect and transmit data about the spread of trachoma. The project was completed in 2015.

2013

Sightsavers launches its first policy campaign, Put Us in the Picture, calling for global development to be inclusive of people with disabilities. Successes include a 20,000-signature petition being delivered to 10 Downing Street, and a photo exhibition being displayed in London, Dublin and New York.

2017

A community volunteer gives a man some medication.

In December, Sightsavers celebrates its one billionth treatment for neglected tropical diseases. On average, 4.59 treatments are distributed every second.

2018

In June 2018, Ghana becomes the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to eliminate trachoma, as validated by the World Health Organization. Ghana’s breakthrough achievement shows that eliminating the disease is possible, and paves the way for other countries to follow.
Read about trachoma elimination in Ghana

2020

Close-up of someone washing their hands under a Sightsavers-branded water tank.

As the world adapts to the coronavirus pandemic, Sightsavers helps to develop COVID-19 prevention campaigns in West and Central Africa as part of the Ascend programme. The campaigns aim to combat misinformation and emphasise the importance of hand washing, maintaining physical distance and wearing masks.

2021

More than 21,000 supporters of Sightsavers’ Equal World campaign from 119 countries sign an open letter calling on the leaders of the G7 to meet their commitments on inclusive education for children with disabilities, particularly girls.
Watch the video message that supported the campaign

2022

Co-founder Lady Jean smiles during an interview.

In August, our co-founder Lady Jean Wilson celebrated her 100th birthday. Read her and Sir John’s exceptional story and how their work has helped millions of people.

We work to eliminate avoidable blindness and promote the rights of people with disabilities.

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