The Standard Chartered Bank staff have commenced a week-long activity in preparation of the celebration of the bank's 'Seeing is Believing' initiative and the World Sight Day celebration this Thursday. 

The activities which are will take the form of fund raising, gear towards creating awareness about blindness. The Seeing is believing initiative is a brainchild of the bank's own staff. Staff involvement has always been a key factor to the success of this initiative, which continues to be strengthened through the bank's employee volunteering commitment. It also provides employees with an additional two days' leave each year for voluntary work to support programmes such as Seeing is believing.

Humphrey Mukwereza, chief executive officer, Standard Chartered, Gambia said people should appreciate the enormity of the problems posed by blindness especially when they come to realise that developing countries could potentially achieve a US$384 billion boost in economic productivity over the next 20 years if they adopt appropriate measures to reduce blindness. Loss of sight, he said has not only affected local communities, but has also had negative impacts on corporate entities and productivity. "Seeing is Believing' is our global response to avoidable blindness," Mukwereza remarked.
He said the initiative still continues to contribute to two million sight restorations and raised over US$17million to prevent and cure blindness.

In The Gambia, however, Mukwereza said they have in collaboration with Sight Savers, Sheikh Zayed Regional Eye Care Center and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare raised US$14,000 to treat 300 people with cataract operations in from 2009 to 2010 through a friendly football match with the National Scorpions' Fans Club. "As the right partner to all our stakeholders, we will work directly to address the gender difference through community education and training of medical staff and remain committed to fighting curable blindness in The Gambia," he siaid.

Other activities planned for the week, he went on, include the launch of a 200 Cataract operation and nationwide eye screening project in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. Mukwereza explains that the screening exercise components have been successfully completed and surgeries will commence this week at the Sheikh Zayed Clinic, where SCB's staff volunteers will assist the medical team.

The Seeing is Believing initiative, he added is a Standard Chartered global community initiative established in 2003 to celebrate the bank's 150th anniversary. According to him, staff that volunteered and raised fund to create awareness of avoidable blindness issues across the globe drived the initiative.

Mukwereza expounded that as replicated in The Gambia, the initiative partners with some leading eye care agencies to support projects that will have immediate impact on people's lives and establish sustainable health care for the future. He disclosed that in the initiative's fourth phase, the current target is to invest US$20 million to fund the development of sustainable eye care services in less advantaged areas of 20 cities. "As a demonstration of its commitment to the programme, the bank commits to match every donation raised until the US$20million target is met and aims to raise the funds by 2013. The investment will extend from 2008 to 2015 when the programme is due to complete," explained.

In conclusion Mukwereza disclosed that proceeds that will be derived from the Seeing is Believing week would be channelled into supporting projects that provide sustainable solutions to the prevention of blindness as well as projects addressing urgent eye care needs. Staff in Gambia have over the years engaged in employee volunteering efforts such as assisting nurses, surgeons, oculists, matrons, and nursing assistants to treat about 200 patients at the Sheikh Zayed Regional Eye Care Center and also providing free eye test and counselling to almost fifty valued customers and staff at the Kairaba Avenue branch.

The Seeing is Believing week was formerly launched by Humphrey Mukwereza himself at a short ceremony in the Banjul branch where he recounted the success stories of the initiative in the country and called on staff to engage in the planned activities for the week. This has inspired some courageous staff engaged in a 'Blind Walk' to further highlight the effect of blindness on the society.