Standard Chartered Bank Employees Spend a Day at the Mankhurd Vision Centre in Mumbai

The Private Bank India senior team, led by Soumya Rajan, Head Private Bank India spent a day (5th Nov'09) volunteering at the Mankhurd Vision Centre (Child Eye Care Charitable Trust)managed by K.B.H.B Haji Bachooali Eye Hospital.

The team participated in several activities including assisting in vision testing for 80 members of the community, dispensing spectacles, writing record sheets, etc. They also accompanied trained volunteers for home visits to identify patients and participated in street plays, distributing leaflets with information about the camp. It was inspiring for the team to participate in this initiative and witness how simple and low-cost steps could be taken to substantially enhance a person’s life by providing access to improved vision.


The team’s volunteering activity was part of the Private Bank’s Philanthropy initiative, involving clients and staff, to raise awareness for Seeing is Believing and fund a $1 million Eye Care facility in Kolkata.
Commenting on her experience at the Eye Camp, Soumya Rajan said, “We visited a home where a volunteer shone a torchlight at an elderly gentleman’s eye and asked him what he could see. He responded that he could see nothing, while we could clearly see the cataract formation in his eye. And to think that 33 dollars could restore his vision. My team and I are committed to raise a million dollars for Kolkata as quickly as we can.”
“I helped volunteers write record cards, referring those patients who needed detailed check-ups or cataract surgery to a free hospital. We asked them to return the following week when a volunteer would accompany them to the hospital for a consultation. I was amazed to see the bank’s SiB efforts reaching so many people on the ground and changing their lives.”, said Nitila Natarajan.
Priya Raghunath found the visit an eye-opener. “I worked with the team dispensing spectacles. For less than a dollar, there was an utter transformation in a person’s vision – reading glasses were provided on the spot while spectacles for myopia would be given the next week. For those who collected their spectacles, the joy at seeing clearly was instantly visible on their faces.”


Project Manager Deepak Lalge from K.B.H.B Hospital quoted," It was indeed a proud moment for my team as the SCB employees expressd they would take this experience to campaigns and initiatives in different cities in India like Bangalore and Calcutta. The group had an insight to the cause and were wholeeartedly involved in the entire process."