Our mission

Equal access to eye care, health care, education and livelihood for children and adults with a disability in Africa and Asia.

We work in seven countries – Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Cambodia and Indonesia – to prevent blindness, provide qualitatively good eye care and health care, food security and low-threshold education for persons with a disability, and we aim to realise inclusive communities as well.

We help persons with a (visual) disability to stand up for equal rights, and we assist advocacy groups in gaining a voice in their dealings with their governments. In the Netherlands, we also lobby for an inclusive development cooperation policy.

Our strategy

3 themes

Inclusive eye care
We work towards preventing eye diseases, diagnosing and treating eye conditions, and realising rehabilitation. We mainly do this in the poorer areas of Ethiopia, Rwanda and Indonesia.

Access to care, education and work
We want everybody to be fully integrated into society, and for persons with a visual or other disability to have equal access to healthcare, education and employment. We make sure that children with a disability can go to school, and we offer them guidance in finding employment after they finish school.

Equal rights
We help and empower persons with a disability and their advocacy organisations to stand up for their rights. And we challenge governments to meet the needs of persons with a disability.

7 core elements

Our pathway to change

If we

• support children and adults in Africa and Asia with a (visual) disability with (eye) care, education and work;
• make care institutions, schools, companies and governments more accessible;
• encourage persons with a disability, their advocacy groups and their community to stand up for equal treatment;

then children and adults with a disability

• will be valued and heard by their family, community and the society they live in;
• have better and more equal access to essential facilities;
• experience fewer barriers in their lives;

so that
persons with a (visual) disability in Africa and Asia receive equal treatment and experience a better quality of life.

17.685 eye care treatments including:  

New! I-SEE project on Java

Indonesia

Indonesia has a good national eyecare policy. Nevertheless, in smaller villages, there is little knowledge about eyecare and the possibilities for preventing and treating eye diseases. Together with CBM-Global Indonesia, we have therefore started this three-year project in three districts on East Java.

The existing healthcare services, local communities and local governments all play an active role in preventative eyecare and improving access to eyecare for persons with a disability. Consequently, the intensive collaboration of the parties involved is this project’s main strength and safeguards its continuation once we leave.

• We are teaching volunteers and teachers how to carry out an eye screening for people in their community or school students. With timely eye screenings, we can prevent absence from school by providing schoolchildren with a pair of glasses, other visual aids or further screenings.
• Journalists influence public awareness about eye care. We therefore provided information about eyecare to 30 journalists, who subsequently produced publications about the importance of eyecare and this project.

This project has been funded for the first year and we are actively looking for funding for the next two years.

Trachoma does not have to result in blindness

Ethiopia

Untreated trachoma – an eye disease that causes swollen eyelids and red and tearful eyes – can result in blindness, even though this disease can easily be prevented with hygiene measures, such as washing your hands with soap and washing your face with clean water. We want to reduce the incidence of trachoma with proper treatment and prevention measures. We are happy to report that in the region where we have been working for the past 10 years, the incidence of trachoma has dropped from 33% to 12%. During 2024, we had wells drilled at 5 locations in the region as clean drinking water and hygiene are vitally important to prevent trachoma.

Mobile eye care teams in remote areas of Ethiopia

Mobile eye care teams in remote areas of Ethiopia: 

Eye care for babies and children
Rwanda

We can only prevent unnecessary blindness among children in Western Province, Rwanda, if we can intervene at an early stage in a child’s life. We therefore work together with the Kabgayi Eye Unit (KEU), a specialised eye hospital, and 12 district hospitals and health centres. In 2024, we trained a doctor and a nurse from the paediatric intensive care department to recognise eye disorders in newborns and premature babies. 779 babies were diagnosed and received timely treatment for their eye disorder.

In Rwanda, we have observed that local clinics are increasingly able to help people with simple eye disorders. That saves them both travel time and costs and allows the eye hospital to focus on specialised eyecare. A positive development!

 Thanks to more funding for eyecare in 2024, we could also:

• Build a paediatric department at the eye hospital in Rwanda so that children could be helped in a child-friendly environment;
• Invest in better protection of patient data in Rwanda;
• Renovate the eye hospital in Ethiopia and provide it, amongst other things, with a new reception area and waiting room;
• Reopen the low vision unit in Ethiopia – here they distribute visual aids to adults and children with poor vision.

Evaluation of SeeYou Eye Health

In 2024, an external, independent consultant evaluated our eyecare programmes in Rwanda and Ethiopia. The evaluation revealed that over the past four years, the general health and sight of people who received help had considerably improved due to timely eye care interventions, early detection and treatment. Furthermore, our eyecare projects were found to be relevant, well-aligned with the available care, and focused on crucial gaps in eye care, such as the need for training.

New project for inclusive nursery education

Rwanda

On 1 September, our new project for inclusive preschool education started in Rwanda. Together with our new partner, Ubumwe Community Center (UCC), we are supporting 30 vulnerable children. Most of them have a disability or a family member with a disability. Thanks to this preschool education, these children have a place at home, in school, and in society where, from an early age onwards, they are valued and where they belong.

UCC inspires and trains social leaders and school directors to create an environment in which every child can participate. They help parents of pupils in raising their children and provide support in the form of transport, meals, school fees and other resources to minimise the number of obstacles that prevent children with a disability from attending school.

At the end of 2024, a conflict broke out in Congo with the rebel movement M23. The school of UCC lies just across the border in Rwanda, close to the conflict area. We are monitoring the situation carefully and continue to raise awareness about the interests of persons with a disability.

On Java, preschoolers with and without disabilities go to the same school

Indonesia 

At the inclusive nursery school of our partner Pusat Rehabilitasi Yakkum (PRY) in Central Java, preschoolers with a disability and/or learning gap go to school together with their contemporaries without a disability. As an expertise centre, PRY, also supports 7 schools in the provision of inclusive preschool education. 18 teachers have learned teach classes in which all pupils can participate. In this way, 39 children with a disability and 208 without receive lessons together.

Inclusive education is positive for both children with and without a disability. This is clear from the reaction of Heri, father of 4-year-old Damar: ‘To be honest, I didn’t want Damar to go to this school with children who have a disability. But now I see that Damar is learning to be more sensitive to the needs of other children and to be friendly and caring. My opinion has changed: all children have the right to a good education, and I now try to explain that to other people as well.’

Access to care for mothers with a disability 

Rwanda 

In Rwanda, our Every Life Matters project focuses on equal access to care for mothers and children and social inclusion for mothers with a disability or mothers of a child with a disability. Via our partner UPHLS, we work closely with self-help groups, healthcare providers, and local leaders in five districts to remove barriers to accessing healthcare, such as stigmas attached to persons with a disability.

We can see clear progress: access to inclusive healthcare is improving thanks to training and other forms of support. Through awareness-raising campaigns and self-help groups – including 12 new groups started in 2024 – stigmas are being reduced and the social acceptance of mothers with a disability is growing.

Fewer barriers to healthcare for persons with a disability

Ethiopia

The project team of our partner ECDD invested in strong collaborations with stakeholders – such as healthcare centres, schools and government bodies – and a network of organisations committed to accessible healthcare for persons with a disability. 

• 918 persons with a disability received education about sexual and reproductive health (SRH) during a coffee meeting.
• Healthcare information has now been made more accessible thanks to 40 manuals and posters in sign language.
• Persons with a disability in Ethiopia can phone a free four-digit number for audio information about healthcare. This MINCH platform – developed by ECDD – is a free mobile service that does not require a smartphone or internet data.

Every Life Matters now tackles mental health issues as well

Indonesia

Sinds augustus is ons ELM-project uitgebreid naar Indonesië. Toegang tot gezondheidszorg voor mensen met een mentale en psychosociale beperking staat hier centraal. Omdat er weinig kennis is over aandoeningen, zoals een bipolaire stoornis, Alzheimer of posttraumatische stressstoornis (PTSS), hebben mensen die worstelen met hun mentale gezondheid te maken met stigmatisering.  

In de eerste periode lag de focus op het verkennen van de doelgroep, het inzicht krijgen in de uitdagingen die mensen met een psychosociale beperking in Indonesië ervaren en het creëren van draagvlak bij de lokale overheden. Het hoofd van het district Purworejo stemde toe om het project actief te ondersteunen en hield een inspirerende toespraak over inclusiviteit en toegankelijke zorg op de ‘Internationale Dag voor Personen met een Beperking’.  

Better future prospects for young persons with a disability

Rwanda 

Menya Ukorane Ubizima Bwiza (MUB) is Rwandese for: our health, our skills, our future. And that is exactly what we are working on in this project. Together with UPHLS and RNUD, and with co-funding from the EU, we focus on equality, inclusion, respect and a better future for all young persons with a disability in Rwanda.

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As part of the Shift of Power programme, which advocates equality between organisations in development aid, we transferred the chairmanship to UPHLS in 2025, the third year of RNUD.

Inclusive villages on Java 

Indonesia

In Purworejo on Java, we are working via the organisations PRY and PAfID on the empowerment of persons with a disability. In 25 villages, village groups have been established in which young people, vulnerable older people and persons with a disability take part. Thanks to inclusive small companies, 249 villagers with and without disabilities can earn an income.

We are Able! for inclusion and food security

Uganda, Sudan, South Sudan and the Netherlands

In areas where great poverty exists, such as in East Africa, persons with a disability are hit particularly hard. They often remain unnoticed by their communities, and existing food programmes are less accessible to them. Together with the We are Able! consortium, we want to make persons with a disability more resilient and also work on food security in Uganda, Sudan and South Sudan.

This five-year project, funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a collaboration with five other organisations, persons with a disability, their advocacy organisations and local governments. The fourth year focused on enabling advocacy organisations for persons with a disability to lobby for food security in a more targeted manner.

Greater attention for inclusion in Uganda

In Uganda, persons with a disability are involved more and more often in the leadership of civil society organisations. Due to policy revisions, improved accessibility and active advocacy, the attention for inclusion is growing. For instance, two directives were accepted to regulate food security and the use of alcohol, and financial institutions improved their accessibility so that persons with a disability can more easily make use of their services.

South Sudan opens its first sign language centre

In South Sudan, the state of Jonglei was hit hard by persistent insecurity, floods and a worsening economic situation. This complex combination of factors makes food security particularly important for our target group because, especially in situations like these, they are the most vulnerable. We focus on inclusive policy measures and strong local advocacy organisations to ensure that persons with a disability are not left behind in the recovery and development process of South Sudan.

• Our local partner, the Sudan National Association of the Deaf, successfully lobbied for a sign language centre! Last May, the first public sign language centre in South Sudan was opened in the capital.

We are Able! in Sudan

• Advocacy organisations, such as Gedarif Blind Union and For Them, ensured that the rights of persons with a disability were included in policy measures.
  
  
• The Gedarif Chamber of Commerce started a training for 50 persons with a disability.
  
  
• The Ministry of Culture and Media will train 20 referees in sign language.
  
  
• The Employment Office now uses an employment quota of 5% for persons with a disability and also publishes vacancies in sign language and braille.
  
  
• 248 women with a disability joined 8 new advocacy organisations for persons with a disability.

In 2023, a war broke out in Sudan and the situation is still volatile in many places. However, it is relatively quiet in the city of Gedarif and there the WaA! programme could achieve much.

SeeYou on Dutch TV  

The Dutch TV programme EO Metterdaad filmed two of our projects in Rwanda: Every Life Matters and Eye Care for Children. The five episodes (Dutch only) with stories about ophthalmologist Theophile and the nearly blind 14-year-old Eric, and a special mother and child episode about mother Faustia who is deaf, were aired on Dutch TV in April and June. The campaign raised a total of € 171,175.

Christmas campaign ‘Eye for you?’ raised more than € 48,000

Our employees and ambassadors could be seen in our Christmas campaign ‘Eye for you?’. Using photos, they explained why they work for access to (eye) healthcare, education and work.

Committed SeeYou ambassadors   

• Ambassador Jurjen van Houwelingen published a book: Als je het even niet meer ziet [When you briefly lose sight of it]. It was sold with a SeeYou bookmark.

• SeeYou ambassadors Rianne Segers and Jurjen van Houwelingen worked together on an edition of the magazine ‘t Verschil (the Difference) of Prisma, a Dutch association of Christian organisations active in development cooperation and diaconates, published in the Dutch newspaper Nederlands Dagblad.

Two entrepreneurs meetings

In 2024, we organised two meetings for entrepreneurs in which Gert-Jan and Rianne Segers gave a personal presentation about their project visit to Rwanda. For the first time, we organised one of these meetings in Zeist because we also want to build up a committed entrepreneurs network in that region.

Results of the two meetings:

• 15 new donors and partnerships
• Amount raised of almost € 100,000
• One of the people present was struck by the funding shortfall for our eye care project and phoned the next day to donate € 50,000. The other people present jointly contributed to the remaining € 25,000. We are very grateful to these entrepreneurs who wanted to encourage us in this way.  

New companies that share our vision

In 2024, we welcomed several companies that can relate to our mission and vision. One of them is the Japanese company VS Technology Europe, which is specialised in lenses, lighting and filters. ‘We understand how powerful sight can be in shaping individual lives as well as the future of companies. Lenses not only form our industry but also restore sight to people suffering from cataracts. We are proud to be a partner of SeeYou.’

Connection creates more impact

We connect knowledge and expertise from Dutch organisations with that of our partners in project countries. One example is our collaboration with the Dutch Christian emergency relief and reconstruction organisation ZOA and the Leprosy Mission. For instance, together with the Leprosy Mission, we provided a disability inclusion training for new employees. We also strengthened the collaboration with organisations that have specific expertise about (visual) disabilities, such as the global Christian Blind Mission (CBM) and Light for the World Belgium.

Satisfaction of our partners

The partner satisfaction survey revealed that our local partner organisations are highly satisfied about the collaboration. They feel heard, respected and there is mutual trust. When it comes to practical matters, they also feel that the communication is good, they know who to contact and their questions are quickly answered. One point for improvement revealed by the survey is that partners do not always know who they can approach about integrity issues. Therefore, we have developed posters with a summary of our integrity policy and code of conduct. In 2025, we will bring up integrity more often in discussions with our partners and investigate how we can support our partners even better still with training about this subject.

New collaboration with FIDA International

In 2024, we entered into a collaboration with Fida International. Just like us, this Finnish development organisation focuses on the inclusion of persons with a disability. They have valuable expertise in inclusive education and have long worked with local partners to realise sustainable impact. Together, we are committed to realising inclusive education and strengthening the position of persons with a disability by providing them access to education and equal opportunities. Through this collaboration, we are taking an important step towards a world in which everybody counts.

Networking

We share our knowledge with various organisations and continue to learn about inclusion, eyecare, operations and fundraising as well. We do that within various networks and sector associations. We deliberately choose several networks and platforms in which we can participate in a worthwhile and committed manner. Due to our membership of these networks, we are even better informed about national and international developments in the area of inclusion.

Our – renewed – team

In 2024, we bid farewell to several people. We said goodbye to both the executive director Dicky Nieuwenhuis and to Jan Banninga, who has been team leader financial control for many years as well as interim team leader fundraising & communication. However, we were also able to welcome several new colleagues. For example, our team was strengthened with a communication officer, relations manager, programme coordinator, office manager and, at the end of December, a new executive director. By the end of 2024, our team consisted of 11.5 FTE made up of 14 salaried employees and an independent professional. The absence due to illness rate fell to 7.53% – which was almost entirely due to a long and extra-long period of illness.

Departure Dicky

Team day and employee satisfaction

During a pleasant day that included a picnic, singing workshop and a meal together, we bid farewell to two colleagues and had the time to get to know several new colleagues better.

In 2024, our employee representation held talks with the executive director on four occasions. These meetings discussed, amongst other things, the employee satisfaction survey, the employee handbook that we will rewrite in 2025, the annual plan and the budget. The employee satisfaction survey revealed that the entire team has a good relationship with colleagues and managers, is positive about the management, gains satisfaction from their work and are treated with respect. Several colleagues still need to get used to the new way of working in programme teams or have not (yet) experienced this as positive. The outcome of the survey was discussed with the entire team under the leadership of the employee representation. 

Complaints

We believe it is important to know what our supporters think, and we handle the feedback we receive with care. By learning from this feedback, we can improve the quality of our work and grow further as an organisation. We also discuss feedback in our projects so that it can improve these as well. In 2024, we received no official complaints.

Integrity  

Integrity is high on our agenda. We know – and countless studies reveal this as well – that persons with a disability face a considerably higher risk of being abused. Safety, an open learning culture as well as a strong integrity policy are vital for preventing such abuse. As we collaborate directly with local partner organisations in Africa and Asia, we bear responsibility as well for ensuring that our partners have a good integrity policy that protects the people we aim to support with our work.

Integriteitsbeleid  
Our integrity policy describes the distinction between our direct and indirect responsibility to stakeholders and our target group, and how we and our partners should act with integrity

• Statement of integrity   
• Code of conduct
• Prevention policy
• Reporting code
• References to underlying provisions: Transparency & anti-corruption policy, Regulations for confidential advisers, Whistle-blower policy, and Complaints procedure

Integrity at our partners
Partner organisations must demonstrate that they realise an active integrity policy and undersign the basic principles with respect to integrity in contracts. The subject of integrity is always on the agenda in our contact with and during work visits to our partner organisations. We ask our partner organisations about their integrity (also called safeguarding) policy, how they implement this and the issues that they come up against.

In 2024, we developed a poster for our partners in which we clearly explained our integrity policy, our code of conduct and the possibility to report complaints and breaches of integrity. With this, our partner organisations know which standards of behaviour apply at SeeYou – and that we expect these to be followed in all our projects – and that we wish to be held accountable if we do not act in accordance with our own rules.

Internal measures for acting with integrity 
We also want our employees to work in a good and safe working environment. We therefore have measures with respect to prevention, adequate support and follow-up trajectories. As part of our preventative measures, we regularly discuss the importance of acting with integrity, and concrete moral dilemmas. Together, we examine whether our policy still aligns with the everyday practice of our work and whether we need to change our role in the area of integrity towards our partners.

In 2024:

• we started a collaboration with an external confidential adviser;
• we appointed an integrity officer.

Code of conduct 
All of our employees and volunteers have signed a code of conduct. This is based on our core values – every person is valuable, there is room for everyone, Christian charity, and justice – and forms the basis for all of our actions. We also endorse the 2019 Partos Code of Conduct with guidelines on cooperation with civil society organisations in project countries, setting up a professional organisation, and agreements on communication and fundraising. 

We fully realise that we always work with the financial resources that are entrusted to us by others, such as donors, funds, and foundations. Therefore, we follow the guidelines in our Transparency & Anti-Corruption Policy to minimise the risk of misusing these resources. 

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)  

Our CSR policy statement has three principles:

Risk management

Our work often involves risks and uncertainties. Through our risk management, we map risks and limit any potential impact they may have. With a three-monthly risk analysis from the management team and a sound policy concerning project expenditure, reporting, monitoring and integrity, we aim to realise structured risk management. We foresee five important risks in the coming years. 

Executive director’s salary

The supervisory board has determined the remuneration policy, the level of remuneration and the size of other remuneration components. This policy is updated regularly. In doing so, we follow the Remuneration Scheme for Directors of Charitable Organisations as drawn up by the charity sector organisation Goede Doelen Nederland. Using these weighting criteria, the supervisory board has awarded a so-called BSD score of 380 points to our director Dicky Nieuwenhuis, and according to this scheme, the maximum annual income is € 129,292. Her actual annual income in 2024, including holiday pay, year-end bonus and pension contribution, was € 99,503. Her pension contribution and transition payment was € 30.950. The income of Jolanda Omvlee in 2024 was € 5,296, including holiday pay and a year-end bonus. Her pension contribution was € 640.

As a result, the annual income, the taxed allowances and additions, the employer’s pension contribution and the other remunerations remained within the maximum norm stated in the Remuneration scheme. In the annual accounts under ‘Explanation stated income and expenses’, the size and composition of the remuneration are explained in greater detail. 

Our supervisory board 

The supervisory board safeguards the mission and identity of our organisation and supervises the executive director, policies and plans of SeeYou. Members of the supervisory board receive no financial remuneration for their work. They can, however, declare costs they have incurred for their work as a supervisory board member. In 2024, the costs of the meetings amounted to € 780, and the remunerations for travel costs amounted to € 1,248.

From the total income, we could spend 80.7% on our objective. This is lower than the 84% of 2023 because part of the income was received at the end of the year and has not been spent yet. The 3-year average is 83.8%.

You can find more detailed figures about the income in the financial statements.

Expenditure 

In 2024, the total expenditure was € 3,815,946 and 87.2% was spent on the objective of our organisation as opposed to a budgeted percentage of 82.9%. With our projects, we reached 30,000 people more than in 2023.

This positive development was possible due to a reduction in our fundraising costs and by economising on other costs as well. A total of 80.7% of our expenditure was for project expenditure for our projects in Africa and Asia for inclusive eye healthcare, access to care, education work and equal rights of persons with a disability. The other 6.5% was spent on raising awareness and education about the need for inclusive development in development cooperation.

Although the overall reserves have descreased slightly, the continuity reserve has recovered somewhat from the decrease in 2023. This financial buffer to absorb shortfalls in income or unexpected costs and thus ensure the progress of the projects is essential and is seen as part of good governance.

SeeYou establishes the minimum size of the continuity reserve on the basis of a risk analysis. For this, the starting point is that this reserve must enable SeeYou to compensate for temporary financial setbacks in such a way that the projects can still continue to achieve their results or, in the most negative case, be completed in a good way. This ensures that donations continue to be well used even if there is a drop in income. It is important that SeeYou as an organisation can bridge a temporary period of lower financial icome and, where necessary, can also briefly support the partners if they experience a sudden loss of support. This stability enables our partners to work on building sustainable local capacity insted of manging ad hoc crises.

Global changes continue to have an impact on our sector. The donation behaviour of private individuals, companies, funds, foundations and governments is fluctuating. The continuity reserve enables SeeYou to remain resilient and to absorb fluctuations up to a certain extent so that we remain a stable partner for our partner organisations in Africa and Asia.

In 2024, the accommodation costs were lower than budgeted. Due to inflation and a strong increase in energy prices in 2022, we allowed for considerably higher costs in the budget. In 2023, we initiated savings measures, such as a strict office policy with respect to occupancy and the heating of office spaces and closing the office one day a week. We continued with these measures in 2024.

The office and general costs are more or less the same as in the previous year. However, they are slightly higher than budgeted, which is partly due to updates to our CRM software and the general price increases for services.

De kantoor en algemene kosten zijn ongeveer gelijk aan vorig jaar. Wel iets hoger dan begroot, bijvoorbeeld kosten van IT zijn hoger door updates van CRM-software en de kantoorkosten door algemene prijsstijgingen van services.