Kuala Lumpur, 24 June 2009 – Henry Wanyoike, world record holder of the 5,000 and 10,000 meters events in Paralympics of Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, will be running the Half Marathon with his long-time running partner Joseph Kibunja this Sunday at the inaugural Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009.

Running while connected to Joseph by a tether on the wrist, the visually-impaired Henry is completely dependent on Joseph to help him identify possible obstacles and challenges along the route without breaking stride.

The duo, who clocked 1:08:00 at the Half Marathon at the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2009 in February, are also here as Goodwill Ambassadors for ‘Seeing is Believing’ – Standard Chartered Bank’s global community programme aimed at helping 20 million people around 20 global cities to avoid preventable blindness.

In an entourage helmed by Arif Siddiqui, CIO of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad and ‘Seeing is Believing’ Country Champion, Henry and Joseph visited Sekolah Menengah Pendidikan Khas Cacat Penglihatan, Setapak, and shared running tips with students. It was a motivational session where Henry shared his story of overcoming adversities while Joseph highlighted how partnership is key to achieving the impossible dream.

Henry Wanyoike said, “Courage and determination can help one overcome adversity to excel. And they can make dreams come true. Together with Joseph, I know that partnership changes lives and I hope we can touch the lives of others through our work with ‘Seeing is Believing’.”

It was clear that Henry and Joseph left a deep impression on the students. According to Puan Che Fatimah bt. Che Abdullah, Principal of Sekolah Menengah Pendidikan Khas Cacat Penglihatan, Setapak, this was an invaluable experience for the 33 students who are running in the Standard Chartered KL Marathon on Sunday.

She said, “We are grateful to partner Standard Chartered Bank for the work they do with the visually-impaired community. Earlier, the Bank had provided us with musical instruments so that our students can develop a better-rounded education. And now, they have given us such inspiration through Henry and Joseph who demonstrate that dreams really can come true – if you have the right attitude and the right partner.”

Arif Siddiqui said, “Seventy-five percent of blindness in the world can be prevented. And this is precisely what we hope to do via ‘Seeing is Believing’, our global community initiative aimed at addressing the causes of avoidable blindness. To date, we have raised over USD 17 million for blindness initiatives and plan to invest a further USD 20 million by 2013. In Malaysia, we collaborate with our local community partners to combat avoidable blindness and we are delighted to have Henry and Joseph join us on this mission.”