Standard Chartered Bank is celebrating World Sight Day 2007 aimed at eradicating preventable blindness. The staff of Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan (SCBP) visited various institutions for blind students in different cities.
They also conducted an eye screening camp for 300 schoolchildren from the Citizens Foundation School at Saudabad Karachi. It is estimated that among children, prevalence of visually disabling refractive errors in Pakistan is about 3.5 percent-4.5 percent. In June this year, SCBP staff also took school children to the Layton Rehmatullah Benevolent Trust Hospital for eye-checks and bought spectacles for children with refractive errors.
Seeing is Believing is a global community initiative established in 2003 which is driven by Standard Chartered staff who raise funds and create awareness of avoidable blindness issues. The programme has already collected enough funds to help NGOs across the developing world restore the sight of over I million people.
Seeing is Believing's latest ambition aims to raise funds equivalent to $10 million by 2010 to make a difference to the lives of 10 million people across 20 countries. Seeing is Believing works with leading eye care agencies to support projects that have an immediate impact on people's lives and establish sustainable health care for the future.-PR