We are excited to be participating in the Gobi March (China) 2015, an ultra-marathon race in China from 31 May to 6 June 2015.  We have formed a 3-man team to participate in this event and we hope to raise some money for Seeing Is Believing (SiB), our bank’s global initiative devoted to tackling avoidable blindness and visual impairment.

Gobi March

• The Gobi March is a 7-day, 6-stage, 250 km self-supported race, named by TIME magazine as one of the Top 10 Endurance Competitions in the world; competitors must carry all mandatory items, including food, supplies and equipment for seven days on their backs. The average backpack weighs 10 kilograms / 22 pounds
• The race takes place in the Gobi desert in the Hami region in the eastern part of Xinjiang Province in China.  Gobi desert is the largest desert region in Asia and the fifth largest in the world, and it is also the windiest non-polar desert in the world.  Along the 250 kilometres course, the terrain is a mixture of alpine hills, rocky river-beds, dusty tracks, narrow ridge paths, green pastures, sand dunes, salt flats and some river crossings.  Temperatures during the Gobi March can vary greatly with a range between 15-30°C / 59-86°F during the day and as low as 0°C / 32°F at night
• The first 4 stages of the race are approximately 40 km per stage (one marathon a day), and the fifth stage, known as the Long March, is approximately 80 to 90 km (two marathons), followed by a short 5 to 10 km victory lap on the final stage.  Up to 180 competitors from more than 40 countries are expected to compete in the Gobi March

For more information on the race: www.4deserts.com/gobimarch/

Seeing Is Believing (SiB)

We hope to raise S$50,000 (approx US$37,000) for SiB.  All donations will go to SiB, and every dollar you donate will be matched dollar for dollar by Standard Chartered, doubling the impact of your donation! 

Please support us and we appeal to you to donate generously. 

You can make a difference to many lives, giving many people the gift of sight.  There are an estimated 39 million blind people in the world and a further 246 million who suffer from moderate or severe visual impairment. 80% of blindness and visual impairment is preventable or treatable; and interventions are some of the most cost-effective in health-care.  Every little donation counts. 

To illustrate:

• US$1 you donate will buy Vitamin A treatment for a child for a year (lack of Vitamin A is one of the leading causes of childhood blindness)
• US$16 you donate will provide an eye test and a  pair of glasses for a child
• US$30 is the cost for a cataract operation to restore sight
• US$60 you donate can train a health worker in Primary Eye Care
• US$120 is the cost for a pediatric cataract operation to restore sight for a child

How to donate?

To make a donation, simply click on the "DONATE" button and follow the instructions. 

Please feel free to forward the links to your friends and family who would be willing to support.

We look forward to your support.  Thank you! 

Regards,

Lee Slater, Eden Britt and Ken Wee