Standard Chartered Bank Plc has partnered Arthouse Contemporary in efforts aimed at eradicating curable blindness from Nigeria. Running for the third successive year, its partnership to support its Seeing-is-Believing (SiB) programme has so far raised over $100,000 to provide over 6,000 cataract and glaucoma surgeries, 2,500 spectacles dispensed, 60,000 screenings and over 600 health workers trained in relevant eye-care areas in Nigeria.
Stephen Richards Evans, Regional Head, Private Banking Clients MENAP, Africa, South Asia & Europe, Standard Chartered Bank, said that this bank’s initiative demonstrates its firm commitment to community development, service and sustainability across Africa through ‘Seeing-is-Believing.’
Evans noted that in helping combat curable blindness in partnership with its clients through financially supporting the corrective surgery work of eye clinics and preventive education on avoidable blindness, the Bank seeks to celebrate the joy of sight.
“The sponsorship of the art auction in Lagos which showcases contemporary Nigerian and West African fine art is also a form of celebration of sight and the visual arts but equally an opportunity to raise more funds for our campaign and the Bank’s global initiative of tacking avoidable blindness,” Evans explained.
Kevita Chellaram, managing director, Arthouse Contemporary, disclosed that since 2012, the partnership with Standard Chartered Bank has being able to draw attention to raise money for the Bank’s eye care centres in Nigeria.
$80,000 was raised through auction and generous donations from clients. With the amount raised, the Private Banking team surpassed the $1.5million goal set in 2010 one and half years ahead of plan.
SiB is a collaboration between International Agency for Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), Standard Chartered Bank and leading eye-care NGOs. SiB invests in comprehensive and sustainable eye care projects with a focus on building long-term, local capacity (such as training and infrastructure) to tackle avoidable blindness in areas of high need.
Through donations from customers, clients and staff, the Bank has contributed to 2.9 million sight restorations and raised over $63million, including bank matching with the money spent to fund 80 projects globally.
In 2011, the Bank pledged to raise an additional $63 million which would take the grand total to $100 million by 2020. This new commitment would allow it fund an additional 35 comprehensive eye care projects globally. These projects range from providing access to cataract operations and preventative treatments in deprived communities. As part of a new focus, five of these projects will focus exclusively on providing eye-care for children. One of the child eye-care projects will be situated in Nigeria and is due to launch in 2016
In support of SiB, Standard Chartered, Nigeria has held fundraising events to raise a total of $830,000 through employee fundraising and client contributions which has helped to fund successful cataract operations (still ongoing) for thousands of Nigerians.
Alexander Chiejina
