SEEI meaning in Community ?

Surgical Eye Expeditions International, or SEE International, is a nonprofit humanitarian organization based in Santa Barbara, California that provides accessible vision care services to underserved communities internationally and in the United States. The organization was founded in 1974 by Dr. Harry S. Brown, and it connects over 700 volunteer ophthalmologists and other allied health professionals with host clinic sites around the world. These volunteer medical professionals travel to host clinic sites to participate in sight-restoring programs and educate local doctors to help create sustainable vision care systems in the areas. Its objective is to provide quality eye care and sight-restoring surgeries in communities that are overwhelmed with large populations of individuals who cannot afford, or do not have access to, this form of medical care. Since its establishment, SEE has screened over 4 million individuals and completed over 500,000 surgeries in over 85 countries.

SEE’s programs focus on eliminating preventable blindness by treating an array of eye diseases and vision impairments without monetary cost to patients. Since 2006, SEE has facilitated courses to train ophthalmologists in the Manual Small Incision Cataracts Surgery (MSICS) technique. This low-cost surgical technique is self-sealing and does not require sutures or high-grade medical technology, making it advantageous to use in the developing world. SEE organizes MSICS courses consisting of two levels that train dozens of medical professionals in the technique every year.

SEE’s funding comes from individual donors, corporate donors, and foundation grants. In the United States, it is classified by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity. It is also a GuideStar Platinum Participant.