SEE International bids a fond farewell to its founder.
On April 16th, 2017, the world lost a visionary of the highest order, and many of us at SEE lost a dear friend and mentor. Harry S. Brown, MD, FACS, passed away Easter morning, after a long battle with cancer. Dr. Brown founded SEE International over 40 years ago in response to the overwhelming number of people worldwide living with preventable blindness. He dedicated his life to serving those who were less fortunate than he was.
After completing his medical education, Dr. Brown traveled around the world with his wife, four children, and mother. He worked as a visiting ophthalmologist providing vital eye care to those in South Africa, India, and Afghanistan. It was on this journey that Dr. Brown realized how badly the developing world needed access to affordable and quality eye care. He founded SEE International in 1973, with the mission of eliminating preventable blindness.
Dr. Brown and his colleagues developed an innovative system to provide sight-restoring eye surgeries to underserved communities worldwide. The intensive, short-term clinics that he planned impacted the lives of thousands of people, and facilitated the training of new medical professionals in remote regions. This template has served as the basis for all of SEE’s programs throughout its 44-year history.
Harry was a man of exceptional vision and compassion who dedicated much of his life to restoring sight to those who would otherwise be forced to live in darkness only because they lacked resources or access to care. Thanks to his humanitarian spirit and relentless passion, SEE has restored sight to nearly half a million people around the world, and changed the lives of countless families, friends, and other caretakers. He will be remembered fondly and with gratitude.
