Standard Chartered Bank, on Saturday 21st November 2009, joined the Ministry of Health’s nationwide campaign at the Congo Town community to ensure vision for children in the community and its surroundings. Teaming up with the Ministry of Health, personnel at the Rina Community Clinic of Congo Town, staff of the Bank’s Lightfoot Boston Street Branch & Head Office together with partner members of the Helen Keller International, distributed the retina developing drug, worm medicine and polio supplement to children between the ages of 6 months to 5 years old, in the final campaign for this year which commenced on the 20th November and will end on the 28th November 2009.

Employee Volunteering is part of the bank’s policy, which encourages staff to volunteer in the communities were it operates. This is a demonstration of the Bank’s strong commitment to its corporate social responsibility through its active community partnership programmes such as the "Seeing is Believing" initiative which supports the eradication of avoidable blindness in the world.

The Standard Chartered Group’s "Seeing is Believing" initiative Phase IV platform tagged ‘A New Vision’ aims at investing USD 20 million in sustainable eye care services for 20 million people across 20 cities including Sierra Leone, focusing on blindness prevention and education, as well as sight restoration.

In October 2007, Standard Chartered Bank Sierra Leone donated $161,026 being proceeds raised from its World Sight Day celebration, to Helen Keller International an International Blindness Prevention Agency to help eradicate blindness in the Sierra Leone society, more so in the area of the distribution of Vitamin A supplement to pregnant women and children under 5 years.

Over the last two years, the bank in partnership with Helen Keller International has joined the ministry of health and other stakeholders, to participate in the national Vitamin A distribution campaigns, in several poor communities including, Kroo Bay, Marbella, and Dwarzack Farm.

Commenting on the ‘Mami En Pikin Well Bodi Week’ Vitamin A distribution exercise, Kumba Ngongou Head of Corporate Affairs, said, "We are proud that Seeing is Believing; is our initiative that works with leading eye care agencies to support projects that have an immediate impact on people’s lives and establish sustainable health care for the future". The programme supports VISION 2020 – The Right to Sight, a global collaboration bringing together the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness, the World Health Organisation and international NGOs to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020. Standard Chartered Bank continues to work in partnership with leading eye care non governmental organizations, including, Helen Keller International and Sightsavers International to fund the development of sustainable eye care services in less advantaged areas of 20 cities around the world, giving poor, marginalized populations access to cataract surgery, preventative treatment, and specialized medical interventions. Standard Chartered, the leading international Bank in Sierra Leone is ranked among the top three banks in the country. Established in 1894, the Bank has operated for 115 years.

Its business operations in Sierra Leone continue to win Banking Excellence awards from the prestigious Banker Award of the Financial Times in London, four years consecutively, 2004; 2005; 2006 and 2007 and Winner of the 2008 World’s Best Internet Bank for Sierra Leone awarded by Global Finance Magazine.

The bank is committed to building a sustainable business over the long term and is trusted for upholding high standards of corporate governance, social responsibility, environmental protection and employee diversity.