Grace Vision

02/09/2026

1 September 2026. A day we will remember.

After months of planning, preparation, coordination and hard work, Grace Vision’s second mobile eye clinic officially launched at Isilimela Hospital, bringing eye care directly to communities across the Port St Johns region.

This is more than the launch of a clinic truck.

This is the moment a vision became Vision.

Months of planning. Countless conversations. Hard work behind the scenes. And now, what once lived on paper is travelling the roads of the Eastern Cape, bringing the gift of sight closer to home.

The launch also marked the beginning of our work in this new community. With the support of local traditional leaders, we were welcomed into the area and began our first screenings. Among the first to be screened were the traditional leaders themselves, standing alongside their communities and leading by example.

For families living in rural communities, accessing eye care can mean travelling long distances, finding transport, taking time away from work or school, and facing costs that many simply cannot afford.

We knew there had to be another way.

So we brought the clinic to them.

From this month, our mobile clinic will travel into communities, bringing screening, eye examinations, treatment and spectacles closer to the people who need them, completely free to the patient.

And that means something.

It means a child being able to see the classroom board clearly.

It means a parent being able to work with greater confidence.

It means a grandmother seeing the faces of her family clearly again.

It means people who have lived too far from healthcare finally having healthcare come to them.

Every kilometre this truck travels represents months of planning and the dedication of an incredible team who refused to accept that distance should determine who gets to see.

Today, we celebrate more than a truck.

We celebrate access.

We celebrate partnership.

We celebrate the communities who have welcomed us.

And most importantly, we celebrate the thousands of people whose lives can be changed because this clinic is now on the road.

The journey has begun.

Our heartfelt thanks to every partner and funder who helped turn this vision into reality.

Together, we are bringing sight closer to home.

12/08/2026

This Is What Success Looks Like to Us.

In 2015, seven-year-old Onelihle Banjwa was screened by the Grace Vision school team at her primary school near Zithulele.

Her screening showed that she was struggling to see clearly, and she was referred to one of our clinic trucks for further testing. There, she was found to have a very strong prescription.

For a young girl growing up in a rural school, she already had enough to overcome. Not being able to see the board, read her books or keep up in class shouldn't have been one of them.

She received her glasses.

And we kept showing up.

For the next 11 years, Grace Vision followed her as her eyes changed, replacing her glasses when she needed them.

In 2025, Onelihle matriculated.

Today, at 18, she is still our patient.

One screening changed what she could see.
Eleven years of care helped remove one more barrier in her way.

This is what success looks like to us.

#𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀

20/07/2026

Every child deserves the chance to see clearly.

Across the rural Eastern Cape, millions of children face barriers to accessing something as basic as an eye examination. For many, the nearest eye specialist is hours away, leaving vision problems undetected and impacting their education, confidence, and future.

At Grace Vision, we believe where a child lives should never determine whether they can see. Our mobile teams travel to remote schools and clinics, delivering free essential eye care, providing spectacles, and connecting children with sight-restoring treatment when they need it most.

Together with incredible partners like EyeCare4Kids and the generosity of our supporters, we've already screened more than 250,000 people, including over 166,000 learners. But our work is far from over.

Watch, share, and help us bring the gift of sight to even more children across the rural Eastern Cape.

To partner with Grace Vision or support our work, visit: www.gracevision.org.za

17/07/2026

Thembisa's story is exactly why we do this work. Thank you for sitting with her, listening, and telling her story with such care.

16/07/2026

Grateful to partner with Operation Blessing SA on 67 cataract operations this week. Restoring sight changes lives! We are honoured to walk alongside these patients every step of the way.

This week, Operation Blessing SA is performing 67 cataract operations in partnership with Grace Vision.

Before surgery, we personally visit some of our patients, taking the time to hear their stories, understand the challenges they face, and offer encouragement and support. It is such a blessing to be part of their journey. For us, restoring sight is about so much more than a procedure it's about caring for people every step of the way.

07/07/2026

Taken at St Barnabas Provincial Hospital.
This is the line our team is met with when doing outreaches at these rural hospitals. A beautiful day, and a clear reminder of the pressing need for primary eyecare in the communities we serve.
Every person waiting represents someone seeking clearer sight, greater independence, and a better quality of life. Reaching communities with limited access to healthcare is why our teams keep travelling these roads.

24/06/2026

Not long ago, Tokozile Lamana was living in darkness.

Cataracts had stolen her sight, making it impossible to continue life as she once knew it. The work that had sustained her family and given her purpose became increasingly difficult. Like many people facing avoidable blindness, she was at risk of losing not only her vision, but also her independence, productivity, and role as a provider.

Then everything changed.

Through Grace Vision's cataract surgery programme, Tokozile's sight was restored.

For many, restored sight means seeing faces clearly again, recognising loved ones, or moving around safely. For Tokozile, it also meant returning to the land.

With her vision restored, she was able to resume farming and become productive once more. She returned to growing food, supporting her household, and participating in the local economy. A woman who had been prevented from working by blindness was once again able to do what she had always done: provide.

But Tokozile's story did not end with surgery.

A few months later, Grace Vision received an unexpected gift.

A relative arrived carrying a generous donation of oranges from Tokozile's farm.

During her time as a patient, Tokozile had noticed that Grace Vision had begun serving healthy food to patients attending surgical interventions. As part of our commitment to promoting healthy and sustainable living, patients are provided with nutritious meals and produce while also learning about the importance of lifestyle choices that contribute to long-term health and wellbeing.

The oranges made an impression on her.

Now, having experienced the life-changing impact of restored sight, she wanted to give back.

This coming weekend, those very oranges will be served to a new group of patients arriving for surgery.

The significance of that gift is hard to miss.

The people who will receive those oranges are walking the same path Tokozile once walked. They are arriving with uncertainty, hoping that they too might regain their sight and reclaim the lives that blindness has taken from them.

As they sit together and share a meal, they will be eating fruit grown and donated by someone who was once in their position.

Someone who was blind and can now see.

Someone whose livelihood was restored.

Someone who returned to work, returned to providing, and chose to return the blessing she had received.

At Grace Vision, we often talk about restoring sight. But the true impact goes much further.

When sight is restored, people return to work. Families regain providers. Communities regain contributors. Hope is renewed. And sometimes, the very people whose lives have been transformed become part of transforming the lives of others.

Tokozile's oranges are more than a donation.

They are proof that restoring sight creates a harvest far greater than vision alone.

#𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀

11/06/2026

A special delivery of hope.
This week Grace Vision had the privilege of delivering spectacles to learners at Efata Special School For the Blind and Deaf in Mthatha. For a child with low vision, the right pair of spectacles can change how they learn, connect, and see the world around them.

This intervention would not have been possible without the dedication of many hands. A heartfelt thank you to the individuals at the Eastern Cape Department of Education, and to the therapists and staff who identified the need, requested support, and helped arrange every detail of this special intervention. Your care for these learners is what made it happen.

A very important thank you also goes to EyeCare4Kids Africa for generously providing the spectacles. Your partnership puts clear sight within reach of children who need it most.
When we work together, Grace Vision, our partners, the Eastern Cape Department of Education, and the Eastern Cape Department of Health, we can do so much more for those who need it. Together we reach further.
We are Grace Vision. And we are here, where the roads end, but hope begins.

03/06/2026

A milestone worth celebrating.

In 2026, Grace Vision has now screened more than 250,000 people across the rural Eastern Cape, bringing essential eye care services to communities where access remains limited.

This achievement belongs to every donor, sponsor, partner, volunteer, and supporter who has stood with us over the years. Your generosity has helped restore sight, improve educational outcomes, strengthen livelihoods, and bring hope to thousands of individuals and families.

Thank you for making this possible. Together, we are proving that where access to healthcare is limited, compassion and partnership can make all the difference.

25/05/2026

This video comes from our visit to Zithulele in the Eastern Cape. For many people living with cataracts, life changes slowly. You adjust without realising it. Walking becomes uncertain. Cooking becomes harder. Even recognising the faces of the people you love starts to fade. In places like Zithulele, getting eye care is not always easy. Many people live blinded by cataracts for years.

Then we experience the moment everything changes. The bandages come off. Light returns. And suddenly, life comes back into focus.

A mother sees her child clearly again. A goggo walks with confidence again. People sit quietly, taking it all in… “I can see again.” This is what Operation Blessing’s Life-Changing Surgery humanitarian medical outreach is about… restoring sight and restoring hope.

📽 Watch the full video on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/3Mg6qX_pdNA?si=7ld27W2kdyLsrzZh

❤ If you’d like to help make that moment possible for someone else, you can donate here: https://cbnsouthernafrica.org/donate/