08/10/2026
"Ask a classroom of children what they want to be when they grow up and, somewhere among the answers, you’ll hear “a pilot”. And having achieved my childhood dream and trained long and hard to become an RAF pilot, a fighter pilot like my father, I flew some fabulous and iconic aircraft, I led the Queen's 60th Birthday Flypast over Buckingham Palace in 1986, and I displayed the fighter version of the Tornado (Tornado F2/3) in the first ever Spitfire Tornado Synchro Display, I’ve spent much of my life relying on my sight. But vision can shape much more than what we see. It can shape our future.
Around 450 million children globally have a sight condition that needs treatment. For many, something as simple as a pair of glasses can transform their ability to learn and thrive. Sadly those with vision loss in low- and middle-income countries are up to five times less likely to be in formal education.
This World Sight Day, I’m proud to support Orbis. My association goes back over 17 years, and my affinity with them is stronger than ever. As an aviator, their Flying Eye Hospital travelling the world to strengthen eye care in communities where it’s needed most, is special to me. A plane can connect people across borders. Orbis, their long-term programmes and their Flying Eye Hospital helps connect children with the futures they dream of. Every child deserves the opportunity to see, learn and dream about what they might become. Even, perhaps, a pilot."
Rick Peacock Edwards, ex-RAF fighter pilot and Orbis Ambassador.
Every eye tells a story and every eye needs care.
Read more: https://bit.ly/47IUslI
