Lorraine Kelly

Ambassadors

Lorraine Kelly

Glasgow born Lorraine Kelly is an award-winning journalist and TV presenter and has been presenting her own show on GMTV since 1994.

Lorraine first supported Sightsavers through our World Sight Day campaign in 2010. She became an ambassador for the charity in 2011 after taking part in the BT Red Nose Desert Trek across Northern Kenya. Here she witnessed Sightsavers' cataract and trachoma work and helped to raise more than €1.4 million for the charity through Comic Relief.

Lorraine says: "What really struck me about Sightsavers is that for a small amount of money you can transform someone's life - taking them from the misery of blindness to a future of independence, often for as little as €6.

"I'm honoured to become an Ambassador for the charity and hope that I can help spread the word about the amazing work that they do in the developing world and in turn give the gift of sight to people who are suffering needlessly. It's shocking to think that there are 45 million people in the world who are blind - but 80% of that blindness can be prevented or cured."

As encouragement to the people who have signed up to treks and marathon challenges, Lorraine said: "On the trek, when times got tough, I reminded myself that people in the developing world are going blind needlessly. Together we can stop that from happening. Your blisters will heal soon (I promise!) but the impact of what you're doing will last a life time."