Our mission
Founded in 2016, Eye Heroes is the UK’s first child-led campaign to fight avoidable blindness. Eye Heroes is a volunteer-led intervention designed to raise awareness about eye health. Children aged 8-12 are trained through short, interactive volunteer-led workshops in schools to become champions of eye health to inform people in their communities about the importance of regular eye tests. The workshops are run for free by local volunteers, marrying the science of eye health with the pressing need to raise awareness in a fun and memorable way.
Avoidable sight loss
Avoidable blindness that could have been prevented with regular eye tests is a large and growing problem. Currently one million out of two million people with sight loss in this country could be living with better eyesight if they had been treated earlier, and the number of people living with sight loss is predicted to double by 2050. Around 200,000 people live with sight loss in London and almost 700,000 are living with a sight-threatening condition. The annual cost of sight loss to the UK economy is estimated at over £8 billion. We therefore need an effective strategy to raise awareness about eye health and promote the early detection of eye diseases that have become treatable with advances in healthcare.
Awards
Prime Minister’s Points of Light Award – Recognition of outstanding contribution by UK volunteers making a change in their communities (2019)
Nesta and The Observer New Radical Award – Award for societal change (2018)
Visionary Together we are Stronger – Partnership with Henshaws (2017)
Vision UK Award – Best project addressing outcome 1 of UK Vision Strategy (2016)
Our Team
Dr. Yusrah Shweikh
Co-founder, Co-Director
Yusrah is an ophthalmologist who specialises in glaucoma. Yusrah co-founded Eye Heroes with Manjul and is also co-director of the Eye Heroes CIC. Yusrah and Manjul’s complementary skills in healthcare and design led to the innovation of a unique solution to address avoidable sight loss.
Manjul Rathee
Co-founder, Co-Director
Manjul is a health tech entrepreneur and human-centred service designer. She has developed several public health initiatives and ventures including those that have been backed by the NHS. She is also the CEO of BFB Labs, a youth mental health tech enterprise.