Our staff members participate in various charitable organizations, and while Evergreen Gavekal is not affiliated with the organization featured in this post, we believe its work is noteworthy and want to help increase awareness of its mission. This blog entry is intended solely to share information and highlight a cause that is meaningful to members of our team.
In early 2025, I joined the Board of Directors of Eye Surgeons International, a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to eliminating avoidable blindness in Southern Zambia and the surrounding region. I was initially introduced to the organization through my long-standing friendship with its founding physicians, and over time, my involvement has grown into a deep commitment to its mission: restoring sight, expanding access to quality eye care, and creating pathways out of poverty for underserved communities.
Why This Work Matters
For more than 30 years, volunteer ophthalmologists have been providing essential eye care at the current Zimba Eye Hospital. That facility—built in the early 1990s—has served hundreds of thousands of patients but has now outgrown its capacity. ESI is working with Zambian partners to build a modern, high-efficiency surgical and teaching center that will dramatically expand the scope and impact of eye care in the region.
The vision is twofold:
• Replace the aging hospital with a state-of-the-art facility capable of providing a full range of ophthalmic services—including advanced, small-incision cataract surgery, cornea, glaucoma, pediatric, and retinal care.
• Train the next generation of local professionals, including surgeons, nurses, optometrists, and technicians, ensuring that high-quality eye care is sustainable and locally led for decades to come.
Why Cataract Surgery?
Cataracts remain the leading cause of blindness in Zambia and across sub-Saharan Africa. The solution, remarkably, is both simple and extraordinarily effective:
• Cataract surgery restores sight in over 98% of cases in high-income countries, and the new Zimba facility is being designed to match that standard of excellence.
• Few medical interventions yield a higher return in terms of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained and immediate improvement in daily function.
• The societal return on investment for cataract surgery has been estimated at over 4,500%—a figure nearly unmatched in global health.
• Restoring sight often enables individuals to return to work, allows children to return to school, and reduces long-term dependence on family members, producing positive ripple effects throughout entire communities.
A Transformational Moment
In partnership with an international team— including clinicians from the University of Iowa and colleagues from Orbis International, Cure Blindness Project, and The OneSight foundation —ESI is embarking on a major expansion that will make Zimba a regional hub for surgical care and ophthalmic training. Construction of the new clinical wing is already funded, and work is underway to equip the facility, strengthen outreach programs, and build the teaching and administrative infrastructure that will support long-term sustainability.
I am honored to contribute to these efforts. The work being done in Zambia is both practical and profoundly human: restoring sight, restoring independence, and restoring opportunity.
For those who may be interested in learning more about Eye Surgeons International and its mission, I’m always happy to share additional information. This is not a solicitation—only an invitation to understand a project that I believe is making a meaningful difference in the world.
ESI is a U.S. 501(c)(3) charitable organization. If you are interested in learning more about Eye Surgeons International, I welcome the opportunity to share additional information about our work and vision for the region. The ESI website is https://eyesi.org.
Mark Nicoletti
Chief Development Officer (CDO), Eye Surgeons International
Evergreen Gavekal Managing Director, Family Office; Partner
mnicoletti@evergreengavekal.com
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