Standard Chartered takes a bow for Seeing is Believing

At Standard Chartered, banking is certainly core business but this has never deterred or precluded the bank from contributing positively to communities which its business calls home.

Standard Chartered is recognised globally as the single biggest corporate sponsor of avoidable blindness projects around the world.

Seeing is Believing (SiB) is a major global public-private initiative to help address preventable blindness and was commenced and driven by Standard Chartered staff in 2003 as a way of celebrating the bank’s 150th anniversary.

In line with this spirit, Standard Chartered Sri Lanka’s own thespians recently took the stage in Indu Dharmasena’s ‘The way to the top’. The effort was well received by both staff and the bank’s guests and a sizable collection was made for Seeing is Believing.

These funds will be utilised towards the local initiatives such as the Mullaitivu District School Children Program which anticipates that some 650 eye glasses are required for school children who currently do without, in keeping with its mission to bring affordable eye-care to some of the poorest communities across the globe, including those in Sri Lanka.

Anirvan Ghosh Dastidar, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered, commenting on the play said: “It is estimated that blindness leads to losses in billions in economic productivity, as many blind and visually impaired people lack the opportunity to work or support their families. The Bank has challenged itself to meet a new pledge, an ambitious target – to raise US$ 100 million globally by 2020 – as a reiteration of our commitment to help eliminate avoidable blindness and visual impairment. We were proud to be able to take on theatrical personae to raise awareness and funds.”

Since its launch in 2003, the initiative has reached over 28 million people globally. Every dollar raised is matched by Standard Chartered Bank – doubling the impact on the ground, which is facilitated via the collaboration between the Bank and the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). The IAPB has described the programme as a ‘trail blazer’ corporate social responsibility initiative.

There are 39 million blind people in the world and without effective intervention the number of blind people worldwide is projected to increase to 76 million by 2020 (VISION 2020). 80 per cent of blindness can be avoided through early treatment or surgery.  

In Sri Lanka, the relief engendered by the Seeing is Believing initiative, which has pledged to disburse US$ 1 million over a period of five years, includes some 18,000 school children who have been provided spectacles, 158 people who have had their cataract surgeries fully funded, facilities which have received 194 optical devices, and over 250,000 adult beneficiaries who have been screened for eye problems.

The Ministry of Health and Vision 2020 of Sri Lanka are the mediators through which funds are channelled to the Urban Comprehensive Eye Care Project for disbursement, via the bank’s implementation partners, Sight Savers International (SSI), the International Centre for Eye Care Education (ICCE).

Sanjeewani de Silva, Head of Corporate Affairs, who also took the boards in the play, stated: “People in countries like ours need to make difficult choices about how they spend the little money they have, and eye-care is not always given the attention it deserves. Through our commitment, we will deliver 35 eye-care projects globally, including five major projects focusing on child eye-care. We’re raising US$ 100 million by 2020 to help people see.”