On the occasion of the Danish EU Presidency the Royal Danish Embassy in China organized a charity event on Thursday 31 May. The event raised 70,000 RMB for cataract surgery in China carried out by renowned non-profit-organization Lifeline Express. The guest of honor was Ms. Le Aimei wife of the Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Yang Jiechi.
60 people from different industries gathered for a charity dinner held at the Ambassador’s residency. Several Danish companies, such as Maersk, SAS, Vestas and Kopenhagen Fur were present and all made considerable donations.
”I am pleased that we can support this hardworking NGO which has made significantly improvements for people with cataract in rural areas all over China,“ said the Danish Ambassador, Friis Arne Petersen.
Lifeline Express carries out thousands of cataract surgeries on Chinese people each year. In China, children as young as 4 years old have cataract, and are thus not able to see clearly and live with the risk of eventually turning blind. Using China’s extensive train network the NGO has managed to reach out to people in need all over the country with their moving custom-built Eye-trains.
Eye-trains have four compartments and are equipped with the latest medical equipment and eye-care technology. Each Eye-train consists of a consultation clinic, a sanitization room, two operating theatres, a recovery room with beds for patients, a multi-function conference room and living quarters for medical staff.
Birgitte Wilhelmsen, spouse to the Danish Ambassador, found Lifeline Express in an article in China Daily and obliged to act.
“I think it is a marvelous event. It is full of warmth and sympathy for the less fortunate. I am so happy that the Embassy decided to support Lifeline Express in our work to help curing people with cataract,” said Vice Chairman for Lifeline Express, Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai.
