Brazil
Renovatio, GoodVision's program partner in Brazil, is now the largest non-profit eye health organization in the country. Renovatio faces the challenges of Brazil's extreme size with courage, creativity and strong partners.
Glasses issued
vision tests carried out
On-site employees
Program start
Around 70 per cent of Brazilian cities do not have an ophthalmologist. Even a simple eye test must be carried out as part of a full eye examination in the presence of an ophthalmologist. With this in mind, it is almost hopeless for people with low vision in rural areas to get an eye test or glasses.
Many ways to see well
To reach people in urban areas, Renovatio works with schools, companies and hospitals, for example, and provides opticians and ophthalmologists.
A mobile eye clinic housed in an extendable truck is a great help here. This was donated by Mercedes-Benz and KfW and equipped with high-quality ophthalmological equipment by "Ein Herz für Kinder (A Heart for Children)". Renovatio thus has the most modern mobile eye clinic in the country, in which up to 1,000 people can be examined in one day. After around 62,000 medical examinations and eye tests in this truck, almost 15,000 people could receive glasses by the end of 2022.
Traveling by air and boat
In Brazil, our teams use various means of transportation, especially in rural areas and in the Amazon. In order to provide good care to the people of the Amazon, Renovatio regularly works with SESAI, the Brazilian Special Secretariat for the Health of Indigenous Ethnicities.
For the people who live in the remote indigenous areas, the journey to the ophthalmologist is usually too far and too expensive.
The Amazon in the state of Mato Grosso.
The team on the way to the Parque Indígena do Xingú, a protected area for 16 indigenous peoples in the state of Mato Grosso.
For the people who live in the remote indigenous areas, the journey to the ophthalmologist is usually too far and too expensive.
The Amazon in the state of Mato Grosso.
The team on the way to the Parque Indígena do Xingú, a protected area for 16 indigenous peoples in the state of Mato Grosso.
For the people who live in the remote indigenous areas, the journey to the ophthalmologist is usually too far and too expensive.
Renovatio and Instituto Verter
Instituto Verter, like Renovatio, is a non-profit organization in the field of eye health. In order to achieve more together, Renovatio and Instituto Verter became the largest Brazilian non-profit organization in the field of ophthalmology in early 2022. Together, they also attended the four most important ophthalmology conferences in Brazil to promote collaboration between doctors and suppliers. This allowed them to better connect with Brazilian ophthalmologists from different regions of the country. Many of them are very interested in working together in future activities.
Help for glaucoma and keratoconus
Together with the Hospital Provisão in Maringa, Renovatio carried out two special campaigns in 2022, in which patients with suspected glaucoma (green cataract) and keratoconus (a non-infectious, usually progressive corneal disease) were treated. These campaigns targeted people who had been waiting in vain for an appointment with the overburdened public health services, and were an important step for Renovatio in becoming a permanent service provider in the Brazilian health system SUS.
A strong team
In 2022, Renovatio grew strongly as an organization and was able to help significantly more people with eye exams than in the previous year. After nearly 95,000 eye exams in 2022, nearly 24,000 pairs of glasses were distributed. The team around Ralf Toenjes, founder of the organization, Dr. Bruna Gil Ferreira, medical director, and Pedro Ivo Garcia de Sousa, head of operations, now consists of 44 people.
A new life for Luan
All 68 keratoconus patients diagnosed during the campaign were operated free of charge at the Provisão Hospital, including Luan. The operation was a complete success and his sight was restored.
Today, Luan no longer needs glasses.
Luan comes from Barra do Aroeira, a city in the north of Brazil. He was examined for the first time as part of the Renovatio and "Ein Herz für Kinder (A Heart for Children)" campaign in 2020. Luan could only see about one meter. He was diagnosed with keratoconus. Keratoconus is a progressive thinning and bulging of the cornea that is associated with fluctuating and decreasing visual acuity.
Renovatio was able to improve his vision slightly in 2020 with 6-diopter glasses, but he would have actually needed an operation. Luan was therefore at the top of the patient list for the keratoconus campaign in 2022.
All 68 keratoconus patients diagnosed during the campaign were operated free of charge at the Provisão Hospital, including Luan. The operation was a complete success and his sight was restored.
Today, Luan no longer needs glasses.
Luan comes from Barra do Aroeira, a city in the north of Brazil. He was examined for the first time as part of the Renovatio and "Ein Herz für Kinder (A Heart for Children)" campaign in 2020. Luan could only see about one meter. He was diagnosed with keratoconus. Keratoconus is a progressive thinning and bulging of the cornea that is associated with fluctuating and decreasing visual acuity.
Renovatio was able to improve his vision slightly in 2020 with 6-diopter glasses, but he would have actually needed an operation. Luan was therefore at the top of the patient list for the keratoconus campaign in 2022.
With my new glasses, I have come a step closer to my dream of becoming a doctor later on.
