A sight to behold: Philippine Savings Bank reaffirms support for visually impaired children

Approximately 2.2 billion in the world today suffer from vision impairment. The various causes range from genetics to age or injury. In at least half of these cases (1 billion), the problems could have been easily rectifiable or prevented. Vision impairment, especially in children, is a debilitating ailment that affects their emotional, social and cognitive development, with lifelong consequences.

A Resources for the Blind Inc. (RBI) report in 2018 showed that almost 5,00,000 Philippines are visually impaired. Out of this, 40,000 were children of school-going age, with a majority coming from financially weak homes. The Philippine government has dedicated significant resources towards addressing this social issue and of late, even corporates are turning their attention to it.

Philippine Savings Bank (PSB) is one of the entities that has stepped up to support the welfare of the visually impaired in the country. The bank has close ties with many non-profits who are working for the betterment of these children. Over the years, the bank has made donations as part of its CSR activities to be used in welfare programmes for visually impaired children.

This year too, PSB reaffirmed its commitment towards improving the lives of the visually impaired in Philippines by donating PhP 3,00,000 to three child-friendly organizations – World Vision, Chosen Children Village and Resources for the Blind Inc. These organizations, in addition to providing shelter, basic necessities, education and caring for the needs of special needs children, also work for the upliftment and empowerment of visually impaired kids in the Philippine society.

World Vision conducts programmes for the welfare of underprivileged Filipino families and spearheads various community initiatives and development activities. They help provide a stable source of income for the parents to ensure that their children are well looked after. Much of the financial assistance goes into building a better life for these families.

Chosen Children Village is another organization that received financial contribution from PSB. The group runs homes for abandoned and handicap children. They provide a nurturing environment for such children, training them as they reach adulthood and helping them become independent members of the community despite their disabilities.

The donation to Resources for the Blind Inc. was made in alignment with PSB’s dedication towards empowering the visually impaired in the country. The generous contribution will be used to conduct counselling, education and training programmes to help visually impaired children unlock their untapped potential and become an integral part of the societies they live in.

PSB’s actions are an example of the difference companies can make in the lives of the underserved. It is worth remembering that we lift yourselves up when we contribute to the upliftment of the poor and the needy.

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