Nairobi — A couple of years ago, Julius Wambua dropped his keys and asked his daughter Christine Ndunge to pick them up. But she struggled to spot them.

Wambua could not believe it, so he dropped the bunch of keys again and instructed Christine to pick them up. But still, she couldn't spot them. "It is then that I realised that my daughter had a problem with her eyesight. She was partially blind," said Wambua.

Then, Wambua did not know that Christine could not go out and play with other children since more often than not she stumbled on everything in her path. "She could not see properly. It is then that we decided to take her to the Kikuyu Eye Hospital for check-up," said Christine's mother, Jane Mumo.

Last April, doctors discovered her eyes had a cataract that required immediate surgery to correct and restore her eyesight. But for a family struggling to make ends meet, raising Sh40,000 for the operation was a huge challenge.

"I had no money. But then, I saw the hand of God. While still pondering on what to do, Dr Daniel Mundia of Kikuyu Eye Hospital asked me to fill in a form after which he told me everything would be catered for. The operation would be free," said Wambua.

What Christine's parents did not know was that the hospital did not waive the cost of the operation. Rather, the Standard Chartered Bank, through its global initiative, "Seeing is Believing", which aims at eradicating avoidable blindness, was footing the bill.

Run for sight

The bank, which sponsors the annual Nairobi International Marathon, uses donations and registration fees from the race to support the fight against blindness among children below nine years.

On Wednesday, Christine joined the SCB Nairobi International Marathon family in launching this year's race in which more than 16,000 participants are expected to compete. Registration for the October 31 race closes on October 20.

Sports Minister Paul Otuoma, StanChart CEO Richard Etemesi and Athletics Kenya chairman Isaiah Kiplagat presided over the launch in Nairobi where a prize purse of Sh1.5 million shillings was unveiled.

Etemesi noted that the race, themed "Run for sight", aims to raise over Sh20 million for the project. Last year's event raised over Sh14 million, which has been used in, among other things, upgrading and expanding Kapsabet, Kapenguria and Iten hospitals.