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"I witnessed the devastating effect of blindness when my father lost his sight at old age. I remember as a
young boy, guiding him around the busy streets" -- a mournful recall from Sir John Major, the former
British Prime Minister. Sir John is now an ambassador for the Vision 2020, himself experienced the trauma
of blindness first hand.
October 13 is observed globally as World Sight Day for those who is incapable of enjoying the light on the
earth and even the eyes of their beloved parents.
Can we imagine? In every five seconds, a person goes blind around the world and one child every minute.
There are 37 million people who are blind in the world. The real tragedy is that 75% of these blindness is
curable and preventable. These people needlessly become blind often because they do not have access to
basic healthcare treatment.
Let's shift our focus from former British Prime Minister, to Arif, a five-year-old remote country boy of
Bangladesh. Arif was incapable of enjoying the flavour of beauty and the pleasure of playing with friends.
He was suffering from blindness caused by congenital cataract. In course of context it's mentionable that,
one of the main causes for blindness is treatable cataract. And with minimal effort and expenditure a
person's sight can be restored. It just needs a proper guiding and training to drive towards an appropriate
diagnostic and treatment.
Standard Chartered Bank came forward with in collaboration with leading eye care agencies, to accomplish
this social responsibility- helping people see their own world with their own eyes. In 2003 Standard
Chartered worldwide celebrated its 150 years, by launching an unique campaign, Seeing is Believing. The
aim was to restore sight of 28,000 people across the world -- one for every Standard Chartered Bank
employee working in 2003.
The campaign was a tremendous success, and at the end of the year, a staggering 56,000 people got back
their sight, thanks to the remarkable contribution amassed by the staff of the bank. The tremendous response
encouraged the bank to embark on a new journey. With the support of Sight Savers International and Vision
2020, the Seeing is Believing campaign now aims for the elimination of avoidable blindness. Seeing is
Believing is going from strength to strength and will contribute to one million sight restorations over a three
year programme, ending in 2006.
Coming back to Arif, who was holding and toying with the colourful marbles in his hands while going to the
Operation theatre. He could hear the clinks of the glass balls but could never see the swirls or colour
trapped inside. Seeing is Believing programme gave his eyes -- the power to play with the colours, to enjoy
the feeling of running ahead. Arif had successful operation on one of his cataract-affected eyes and was
waiting to have the other in a month. He can now perceive not only the light but also the lovely faces,
people, nature and objects, for the first time in his life.
In August 2003, the bank officially inaugurated the Standard Chartered Operating Theatre and Children's
Ward at Islamia Eye Hospital in Dhaka which gave the latter the capacity to do more then 12,000 cataract
surgeries per annum. Besides, the Seeing is Believing programme has also funded for the training of over
6,600 primary eye-care workers to identify treatable blindness and refer patients to district-level hospitals
for appropriate treatment across Bangladesh. In the result they can now assist 68,000 visually impaired
people through out the country. Arif was one of the successes of creating a social impact through the
programme and to get the opportunity to get rid of an avoidable curse.
Not only in Dhaka, across the country Standard Chartered is providing an advantage to enlighten the life
through restoring sights, when the financial cost being the most significant hurdle to uptake the proper
treatment. In Comilla, the bank's collaborating partner The Sight Savers International (SSI) supported the
NGO- Bangladesh Jatiya Andha Kalyan Samity (BJAKS) for their social works towards curing the
blindness. From 2004 BJAKS is providing free cataract surgeries to the ultra poor population. Also now the
referred patients are transported to the base hospital using hospital transports. In Narshindi, it's the same.
The new phase of the Comprehensive Eye Care (CEC) programme of Dhaka Lions Eye Hospital (DLEH),
with SSI's financial support, ensures the accessibility of services to all those who cannot afford to pay.
Seeing is believing is putting the smile on the faces of hundreds of mothers like Arif's. Joanna Lumley, a
renowned actress, witnessed the joy on Arif's mother's face. In her words, she points out: "There was this
extra ordinary dignity. She was behind him, but her face had become suffused with colour. She was smiling
and smiling. She could not stop holding his shoulders and smiling."
Under the programme in 2003, the bank funded training of healthworkers and established Standard
Chartered Operation Theatres and Children's Ward in Islamia Eye Hospital in Dhaka. The latest phase of
Seeing is Believing now tries to replicate the successes in Bangladesh in nine other countries. With Sight
Savers and other global partners, Seeing is Believing has identified 12 flagship projects in 10 countries:
Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The
funds raised through the programme will go towards cataract operations, training eye-care doctors, and
building training facilities and new vision centers. Through out the world Seeing is believing programme's
promise is -- We give the gift of seeing the world.
The employees of Standard Chartered are also participating by working a full day for free. Is not it's our
duty too to help the eyes blinking in light? Can't we too join the noble programme, Seeing is Believing,
initiated by Standard Chartered and its collaborating partners? Can't we really afford a very minimal share
of donation to establish our humanity? Can't we too make a promise as Joanna made? Can't we promise to
track down every child, no matter how poor, in every village across Bangladesh, no matter how distant.
Every child will be operated on and it's achievable .
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