MACAO, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- The ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital Wednesday began its visit to Macao with a three-day Open Your Eyes Tour, which was designed to raise awareness of the hardships facing preventably blind people in the world.

    "Thanks to the generosity of Macao International Airport and all of our donors in Macao, ORBIS is able to carry out sight-saving missions around the world," said Paul Forrest, the NGO's Director of Global Development, at the ceremony. Edmund Ho, Chief Executive of Macao SAR also attended the ceremony.

    With advanced eye surgical equipment and professional medical teams, the DC-10-jet-turned flying hospital is able to provide ophthalmic surgery and extensive educational programs for doctors in underdeveloped regions. The plane houses a 48-seat classroom where local doctors, via a two-way visual and audio system, can watch and discuss the surgeries live broadcast in the operation room on board the plane.

    Forrest said donations from around the world provided them with an annual budget of 50 million dollars, which is used to support the NGO's sight-saving programs in various nations and the flying hospital. As a result, ORBIS has by far trained over 154,000 ophthalmologists and treated over 4.4 million patients suffering from eye diseases around the world.

    The permanent crew of the plane includes five doctors and othersupporting staffs, most of whom have working experiences in renowned medical institutions around the world. In addition to the crew, ORBIS will also recruit some short-term volunteer doctors to participate in their missions to help the blind.

    Established in 1982, ORBIS has conducted long term programs with local governments in various nations.

    "In the past 25 years, the Flying Eye Hospital has introduced advanced eye care technologies to 76 countries. In 2007, the countries we visited included China, India and Syria. Later this month, the plane will visit Cambodia," said Erwin Temmerman, Director of the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital.

    Statistics released by the World Health Organization shows that a total of 37 million people are suffering from blindness around the world. China alone has more than 6 million blind people, 80 percent of whom dwell in rural areas.