Our track record
A new vision
- US$ 20 million raised
- Eye care services for 20 million people
A New Vision is launched on World Sight Day of 2008. The initiative aims to raise US$ 20 million by 2014 with Standard Chartered Bank committing to match up to US$ 10 million in matching funds. The project aims to provide comprehensive and sustainable eye care services for 20 million people in the underprivileged areas of 20 cities across the globe. These will ensure poor populations in areas of high need have access to permanent eye care services offering basic treatment and glasses to surgery and specialist care.
Standard Chartered is awarded IAPB’s highest honour to organisations, the global partnership award. Seeing is Believing becomes the largest donor to the global campaign `VISION 2020: The Right to Sight’ through IAPB.
Fundraising for A New Vision is now complete and the projects have been launched. These will finish in 2014.
Ambitious early targets
- Seeing is Believing is born
- Staff set out to raise money for 28,000 sight restorations
Seeing is Believing launches in 2003 as a staff initiative to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Standard Chartered Bank.
It aims to raise money to fund 28,000 sight restorations.
Seeing is Believing smashes this target - as staff raise more than US$ 1.6 million to fund 56,000 sight restorations.
Expanding the reach
- US$ 10 million raised
- 10 million people reached
This is launched in 2006. A new fundraising target of US$ 10 million was set with the Bank committing to match up to US$ 5 million.
Seeing is Believing expands to include projects addressing prevention as well as cure of blindness and aims to reach 10 million people across 20 countries.
International Agency for Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) - a membership organisation with ties to all leading eye care NGOs - becomes the lead-partner with Standard Chartered Bank in Seeing is Believing.
Fundraising for this was completed on World Sight Day of 2007, just one year after launch. The projects were completed in 2010.
Growing momentum
- US$ 6 million raised
- Contributions to 1 million sight restorations
Following the initial fundraising success of 2003, a new target is set to reach 1 million people.
A US$ 6 million programme is mapped out with Sightsavers International.
The Bank commits to match all donations up to the US$ 6 million target.
12 projects are implemented over 10 countries. This includes funding cataract operations and building the capacity of medical staff to improve the quality and efficiency of their services. Eye surgeons are trained in a new form of cataract surgery called small incision surgery which is quicker and simpler and as a result, significantly increases surgical rates.
The fundraising target is hit a year early in 2006.
This was completed on World Sight Day of 2007.
Seeing through to 2020
- US$100 million fundraising target
- Aim to reach 50 million people by 2020
We’ve pledged to raise US$100 million by 2020 for sustainable eye-care programmes. Having raised US$50 million since 2003, we’re half way to our target. Standard Chartered will continue to match every donation, dollar-for-dollar.
This pledge fully supports the global initiative for the elimination of avoidable blindness: ‘VISION 2020: The right to sight’.
As part of our commitment, we’ll build 35 new eye-care projects, including five eye-care projects for children, valued at US$5 million each. The new projects will be launched between 2012 and 2016.