On Sunday, May 27, 2018, the Asian Institute: Asian Pathways Research Lab Team pulled a 65-tonne 757 cargo plane 20 feet across the tarmac at Pearson International Airport for the 2018 Orbis Plane Pull for Sight.

Generously supported by the Richard Charles Lee Asian Pathways Research Lab, our team of Asian Institute students*, staff, faculty, and family leveraged their muscle to support the work of Orbis, an international non-profit non-governmental organization dedicated to saving sight worldwide. The Plane Pull is a fitting event for the organization which operates a Flying Eye Hospital (a fully equipped teaching hospital on board an MD-10 aircraft) to help end avoidable blindness worldwide.

Representing the Asian Institute at this unique, fun-filled, team-building day for a worthy cause, our team thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to more deeply connect with one another outside the classroom.

*Special thanks to the Contemporary Asian Studies Student Union (CASSU), Synergy, the Journal of Contemporary Asian Studies, and the Asian Pathways Research Lab for organizing the student contingent.

The Asian Institute: Asian Pathways Research Lab team after a successful plane-pull.

The team warming up in advance of the plane pull.

Team members autographing one another’s shirts for posterity.