Orbis aircraft is a site for sore eyes

If there is a better job in the world Tanya Cigognini can't think of it. Flying around the world - a new country every month - and ecstatic customers, eager to embrace you after treatment and sometimes proposing marriage.

"They do get very emotional," the staff nurse laughs as she recalls a group of men whose sight she helped to restore in Tanzania recently.

"The first guy opened his eyes and leapt up, saying he could see the coconut trees at the far end of the airfield. The next guy was the same.

"Having come in all stressed, not knowing where they were, they were suddenly up kissing my hand and hugging me."

The Australian is part of a multinational crew that operates the Orbis flying eye hospital, a unique medical centre on display at Dublin Airport from yesterday. Orbis, a UK-based charity, is in Ireland for the week to thank its Irish sponsors and to try to recruit volunteers for future missions to Africa and Asia.

Ophthalmologist Rhona Duggan from Galway, who joined the group in 2001, said it was looking for eye surgeons, nurses, anaesthetists and other medical experts to give up a few weeks for the programme, which seeks mainly to train treating doctors in developing countries.

To this end a DC-10 was converted, with the support of donors, into a sterile operating environment, complete with recovery beds, and camera and audio links to a lecture room where surgeons can see operations in progress.

Since it was founded 23 years ago Orbis has completed more than 500 training programmes in 76 countries, establishing permanent offices in Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia and Vietnam.

As well as training more than 70,000 medical professionals, it has helped to mobilise governments to embrace treatment options and organ donor schemes.

The flying hospital, which has just returned from India, "is great for generating enthusiasm," added Ms Duggan. "There is a great sense of anticipation and excitement every time it touches down."

The main causes of childhood blindness are visual impairment due to uncorrected refractive errors, vitamin A deficiency, developmental cataract and retinal conditions. Half of this blindness is preventable or treatable, says Orbis, but there is a dearth of trained paediatric ophthalmic professionals and essential equipment.

See www.ukorbis.org