Former Blue Peter presenter to spearhead new Cambridge charity campaign

Diane Jordan is to work with Cambridge based CBM to help raise funds to prevent child blindness

Celebrity and TV presenter Diane Louise Jordan is to become the face of Cambridge based overseas disability charity CBM in a new campaign to raise funds aimed at preventing childhood blindness in the world’s poorest places.

Ms Jordan known to many from her Blue Peter fame, she is the fourth longest standing Blue Peter female presenter, and is also frequently on our screens presenting BBC’s Songs of Praise.

She said: “As a mother and a grandmother, I can’t imagine what it’s like to see your child lose their sight.

“Watching them struggle, knowing that treatment is available – but out of reach. That’s why I am passionate about supporting CBM, because I believe that every child should have the best chance in life - and that nobody should be needlessly blind.”

Diane is the voice of a moving advert that will be aired from June 4 onwards across a range of television channels including, CBS Drama, God TV, Sky Arts and Gold. It features Yona (9), and Lucy (7) from Tanzania in East Africa, who were living needlessly blind from cataracts until they received treatment at CBM’s partner hospital.

Kirsty Smith, CEO of CBM added: “We are so thrilled to have Diane on board supporting our Save Sight campaign. It’s shocking to think that children in countries like Tanzania are losing their sight – and with it often also the chance to go to school – because of conditions like cataracts.

“So we’re hugely grateful that Diane is helping us raise awareness and funds to prevent children from becoming needlessly blind. She is so full of warmth and her devotion to children and family is very much a way of life for her. We couldn’t imagine a more perfect individual to be fronting our campaign.”

An estimated 1.4 million children worldwide are blind, with most living in developing countries. In nearly half of cases, childhood blindness is avoidable. For example, cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide.

Sight can be restored by straightforward surgery, costing as little as £24 for an adult or £95 for a child, and yet for millions of people in the world’s poorest places, this operation is out of reach.

CBM works in the world’s poorest communities to prevent blindness by improving access to sight-saving eye health services, treating and preventing blinding diseases, training health care workers and carrying out sight-restoring surgeries.