Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) yesterday donated Tk 33.50 lakh to the Islamia Eye Hospital (IEH) to perform surgeries free of cost on the needy and underprivileged people.

Under the 'Seeing is Believing' initiatives, the SCB staff in Singapore raised the fund.

Euleen Goh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the SCB in Singapore, handed over the cheque to

Mirza Ali Behrouze Ispahani, chairman of the IEH at its auditorium.

In her speech, Euleen Goh said this amount is not enough to perform surgery on so many visually impaired people in Bangladesh, but it was the commitment of the SCB throughout its long history to play active role in supporting the communities in which it operates.

This spirit of community partnership could be seen in their funding of a fully equipped operating theatre and children's wardin Dhaka, she added.

David Fletcher, CEO of SCB in Bangladesh, said loss of eyesight is a great problem not only in Bangladesh but also allover the world.

One surgery could bring the light of eye in one's life but in Bangladesh there were many visually impaired people who do not get proper treatment due to lack of money, Fletcher added.

The SCB staff from UK, Taiwan, Sierra Leone, Malaysia and Hong Kong were present at the handing over ceremony.