Henry arrives in city to support fund raising
The statement came from a famous Kenyan athlete, Henry Wanyoike, who lost his eyesight at the age of 21. But his disability could not prevent him from winning gold medals in the 10,000 meters and 5,000 metres for the visually-impaired at Olympic games.
Henry arrived in Bangladesh yesterday as a global goodwill ambassador for the Standard Chartered Bank's project 'Seeing is Believing.'
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. On the first day of his three-day visit, Henry met some media people at a local hotel in Dhaka. "It is possible to eliminate blindness from the world, if we come forward with our little ability," he said.
The 'Seeing is Believing' project aims to restore the eyesight of one million people in 10 countries, including Bangladesh. Sight Savers International and Vision 2020 are helping Standard Chartered Bank to implement the project.
Henry is visiting Bangladesh for the first time to support fund raising for this great humanitarian cause. "It is a noble task," he said, adding that teamwork is very important in accomplishing such mission.
Henry called on the people to come forward to do something for the visually-impaired.
Henry, a young man from central Kenya, has demonstrated on numerous tracks around the world that disability is not inability and that life can go on after the most devastating of calamities.
Running with a sighted guide as is the norm, he won the gold medal in the 5,000 metres for the visually-impaired at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, making history as the first African ever to win an Olympic gold medal in that category.
Henry won gold medals in the 10,000 meters and 5,000 metres, and went ahead to break the world records in both races at the 2004 Athens Olympic (blind category).
During his stay in Dhaka, Henry will visit some projects of 'Seeing is Believing' in different parts of the country.
M Enamul Kabir, country representative of Sight Savers International, Shah Masud Imam, head of corporate affairs of Standard Chartered Bank, and Henry's guide Joseph Kibenja were present at the press conference.
Masud Imam said, "We are planning to restore the eyesight of about 10 million people across the world by 2007." Under the project, about 57,000 people got back their sight last year, he added.