The University of Sydney has paid tribute to former student Gabi Hollows for her work in eye health and development in Australia and overseas.

At a ceremony attended by past and current students, Gabi was presented with the university's annual Health Science Alumni Award for Community Achievement.

It highlights the impact of her work alongside her late husband Fred and her dedication to furthering his vision through The Foundation.

The caring treatment Gabi received from her eye doctor as a child for a condition known as squint stoked an interest in medicine and helping others that has endured ever since.

After school, Gabi studied orthoptics, which specialises in diagnosing and treating eye disorders. She graduated in 1973 from the former Cumberland College of Health Science, which is now part of the university's Faculty of Health Sciences.

It was soon after, during her early training, that Gabi met Fred. Four years later she joined The National Trachoma and Eye Health Program which was initiated and led by Fred and sponsored by the Royal Australian College of Ophthalmologists and the Australian Government.

For three years, Gabi and Fred visited over 465 remote Indigenous communities with a team of people, treating Indigenous Australians for trachoma and other painful eye conditions.

A year before he passed away in 1993, Fred, Gabi and their friends formed The Foundation so that Fred's work could continue. Since then, Gabi has remained at the forefront of efforts to eradicate avoidable blindness and improve Indigenous health.

The Hollows family retains strong links with the Faculty of Health Sciences, with two of Gabi and Fred's children currently undertaking degrees in medicine and nursing.

> Learn more about The Foundation's work to end avoidable blindness.