Charity boss ‘impressed’ by Irish people’s generosity despite pandemic



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A head of the charity has said he is “impressed” by the generosity of the Irish after fundraising targets were exceeded in 2020, despite the economic impact of the pandemic.

Feargal O’Connell is the CEO of Sightsavers Ireland, which works to eliminate avoidable blindness in the developing world and promote the rights of people with disabilities.

Appointed earlier this year, he feared the pandemic’s economic crisis would force him to cut jobs at the charity, but his jaw dropped as donations kept pouring in.

Around March and April, we feared the worst, “O’Connell said.

“But what we call attrition, when we lose donors, it hasn’t happened.

“We are really impressed by the incredible support.

“I think in Ireland there was a feeling of great connection, that everyone was in this together.

“And the understanding that no one is safe until everyone is safe.

“The Irish, it’s in our DNA, we are very open in terms of our generosity.

“I believe that our experience as a former colony, our experience with conflict and famine gives us empathy for what the countries of the developing world are going through at this time.

“The Irish responded as we know they do, with amazing generosity.”

However, not everything has been straightforward, with many corporate donors taking cost-cutting measures.

O’Connell said: “Individuals have a different experience compared to corporations and companies.

“Especially when the second lockdown started, it was really difficult and they said they had to review their charitable donations, which is completely understandable in the current context.

“It has been a bit mixed in that sense.

“But overall, we are completely impressed by the support and we are ending the year in a relatively strong way.

Service delivery has been more difficult, but O’Connell is pleased with what Sightsavers has been able to accomplish this year.

He said: “We have not reached our goals, we are not where we want to be.

“But we have been able to perform quite well under the circumstances.

“We have done 1.2 million exams.

“We have performed around 140,000 eye operations.

“We have trained 2,000 health workers.

“Under the circumstances, we are very happy with the way the programs have adapted and performed.”

Feargal O’Connell said the nation had recovered (Brian Lawless / PA)

While the death rate from the pandemic in low-income coverage has not been as bad as feared, the economic impact has been much more significant.

O’Connell said: “Across the healthcare sector there was real fear about the impact of the pandemic on low-income countries.

“The direct impact on health and mortality and the number of cases is not what we feared.

“It will probably take us a couple of years to find out why that is the case.

“But the secondary impact is really worrying.

“Economies across the developing world are really struggling because they don’t have the ability to borrow in international markets like richer countries do.

“The economic impact is affecting the food and hunger situation, and also the health system.

“We had to really turn around to provide supplies of PPE, really increasing our water and sanitation activities as well. The health system is still under great stress. “

Travel restrictions have limited Sightsavers’ ability to produce fundraising content, showcasing their work in places like West Africa.

But O’Connell is hopeful that in 2021 that activity will resume.

Donations can be made at www.sightsavers.org.

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