As part of his 80th Birthday celebrations, Sir Mick Nades, Founder of IBSUniversity, proudly sponsored the donation of two eye corneas to Port Moresby General Hospital, in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society.

Sir Mick shared, “It is a blessing from the Lord above to be able to fund the donation of two eye corneas as part of my 80th Birthday celebration.”

The corneas were formally handed over on Friday 27^th February 2026, 2:30 pm at the PMGH CEO Boardroom from Sir Mick Nades and his wife and His Excellency Panditha Bandara Sri Lanka Consulate and his wife to:

• Dr. Paki Molumi, CEO, Port Moresby General Hospital
• Dr. Jambi Garap, Ophthalmology Clinical Coordinator and her team of ophthalmologists.

Dr. Molumi expressed his acknowledgement to the Sri Lanka Eye Society and His Excellency Mr. Panditha Bandara and Sir Mick Nades for the full sponsorship of the cornea tissue.

Dr. Garap gave an overview of the ophthalmological process and what causes blindness and the screening process of a patient to be eligible for the transplantation of the cornea tissue.

Also present were Dr. Kone Sobi, PMGH Director Medical Services, Ms. Veronica Toure Barrum, Licensed Customs Broker, Pearl Customs Agency and Ms. Sarah Bony, age 43 from Chimbu Province, a cornea recipient from July 2025, who shared her emotional testimony of restored vision and renewed quality of life.

Corneal transplantation in Papua New Guinea dates back to 1989, made possible through the tireless efforts of Dr. Lalith Perera and the generous support of the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society, which has faithfully provided corneas free of charge for sight-restoring surgeries.

Dr. Perera personally coordinated and facilitated these transplants until 2009, working closely with the Eye Clinic at Port Moresby General Hospital. During this period, 20 Papua New Guineans regained their sight, as confirmed in a letter dated 11^th November 2009 by Dr. A.G Kerek, Chief Ophthalmologist at the hospital.

In 2012, the Sri Lanka-Papua New Guinea Friendship Foundation assumed responsibility for continuing this humanitarian initiative, enabling nearly 20 additional visually impaired patients to see again. However, after several years, the programme was temporarily suspended due to unavoidable circumstances.

 In 2023, Mr. Panditha Bandara, PNG Representative of the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society, resumed coordination of the programme with the generous support of Sri Lanka philanthropists in PNG.

Mr. Bandara said, “although I revived this humanitarian initiative, there are number of people around me, some Sri Lankan philanthropist who supported this initiative like Sir Mick Nades who fully sponsored today’s donation of two cornea tissue.

Since the program’s revival, two corneas have been donated monthly, resulting in 8 successful operations to date. With today’s donation, that number rises to 10 — with two more sight restoration surgeries scheduled.

IBSUniversity is proud to stand in support of initiatives that restore hope, dignity, and sight.

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