Fundamental Tools for Success

Bisallia, pictured left, is in 5th grade and has never had glasses before, but has needed them since kindergarten. When we screened her in February 2014, her vision was 20/200 in both eyes. That means she could not read any of the letters below the large[...]

A Golden Opportunity for Helen Keller International

Helen Keller International set up the first modern cataract center outside Hanoi and HCMC in Nam Dinh in 1994; an easy 4 hour drive South from Hanoi, where electricity was relatively reliable and there were already skilled[...]

The “Harry Potters”

The "Harry Potters"In 1994, US Vision Program was launched in Washington Heights, NY.  The model of the program included core components such as visual acuity screening, vision assessment with licensed optometrist, and the provision of eyeglasses. [...]

Making the Blind to See

On my first trip to the field as a new Board member in 2008, we went to Singida, Tanzania, a full-day’s drive into the center of the country from Dar es Salaam, mostly down rutted dirt roads.  The hotel’s mosquito bed nets had big holes in them, the[...]

Life is an Exciting Business

I’ve been working at Helen Keller International in the Operations department at headquarters since 2010, where my main responsibility has been making sure the office runs like a well-oiled machine on a day to day basis.  I’ve often wondered what[...]

Running in Honor of My Mom

Vision is easy to take for granted--at least that's true for me. I try to be intentional about recognizing the good in life and giving thanks, but so many things still escape notice. I'm glad I can see, but it was never any deeper than[...]

Sight Impacting Life

While on a field supervisory visit for the Hilton Trachoma Elimination Project, I entered the hut of a 5 year-old boy named Nazifi Aminou who had been referred as an “unsaveable case” by the local Chief Medical Officer at one of the health posts in the[...]

“Just Because He Can’t See Doesn’t Mean He Can’t Think”

"Just Because He Can't See Doesn't Mean He Can't Think"I carried out a field visit to observe first-hand the work that the Helen Keller Intl Niger staff had been conducting. One of our Niger offices is located in Zinder – a large town some 895 kilometers[...]

“A Creature With Many Legs”

"A Creature With Many Legs"John Palmer, former President of Helen Keller International What attracted me to Helen Keller International wasn’t so much blindness, but the agency’s approach to international development. I think the paradigm that this agency[...]

100 Stories for 100 Years

Helen Keller International recently celebrated its Centennial Anniversary. In addition to a host of exciting commemorative events taking place in Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States, our global team members have taken on the challenge of sharing[...]