Seeing is Believing (SiB) is Standard Chartered Group global program to help tackle preventable and curable blindness. SiB was born in 2003 as a staff initiative to celebrate the Bank’s 150th anniversary. Since 2003, SiB has helped 25 million people and given more than 2.7 million people their sight back.

 

There are 39 million blind people across the world and 90 percent of avoidable blindness occurs in the developing world, including Indonesia. A child goes blind every minute and 60 percent of these children will die within one year of going blind.

 

In September 2011, Standard Chartered Group pledged to raise USD100 million by 2020 to build sustainable eye-care services across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In Indonesia, Standard Chartered allocates USD2 million to provide free cataract surgeries, diabetic retinopathy treatment and eyeglasses distribution. To date, the Bank has contributed in providing free eyeglasses to 15,276 students and 4,498 teachers of secondary schools in several major cities in Indonesia throughout the period 2009 until 2011. Standard Chartered Bank has also funded more than 3,400 cataract surgeries for the poor conducted in various cities throughout the country. Through SiB program, the Bank invites all staffs and public to participate in giving back to community and collaborate with local NGOs to tackle avoidable blindness in Indonesia.