Improving Vision Care in Cameroon

A young woman and an adolescent boy stand next to each other in a classroom in Cameroon. They are smiling at the camera and each giving a thumbs up.More than 26 million children and adults in Africa are living with some form of visual impairment. As many as 15 percent of these experience vision loss because of common refractive errors, such as near-sightedness or astigmatism, which can be corrected with[...]

Clear Vision Brings True Potential into Focus

A boy with dark skin and glasses sits at a desk in a classroom surrounded by peers. He is turned toward the camera.Living with childhood cataracts meant that 10-year-old Ulrich Amassoga had never experienced clear vision before. He had difficulty in school and dealt with bullying from classmates because of his condition.  Two years ago, Helen Keller began providing[...]

Building Brighter Futures by Saving Sight

A girl with dark skin wearing a blue dress and glasses stands on a small hill overlooking an earthen building.By the time she was six years old, Treasure Winner Mafau Azemafack’s family had already fled violence three times. Originally from Fontem in Cameroon’s South West region, Treasure Winner, her parents, and three siblings eventually settled on Dschang,[...]

Breaking the prevalence of poverty-related diseases in Cameroon

Helen Keller health workers visited Biaback Guiliagne’s homeWhen Helen Keller health workers visited Biaback Guiliagne’s home in a rural Cameroon village, he was surprised at first, but quickly warmed up when he realized the visitors could help relieve some of his pain. For more than 30 years, Biaback had been[...]

3 Things to be Optimistic about in 2023

Nepalese mothers celebrating with food. Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. Helen Keller Just like Helen Keller herself, many of the families Helen Keller Intl works with face staggering odds that can seem insurmountable – from food[...]

Going the distance to ensure lifesaving vitamin A  

Pamela and her childrenIt’s a bright and sunny day in Mbalmayo, Cameroon, and youthful laughter fills the air. There’s joy in children’s voices as they call to one another playfully, sharing stories of their activities at school.  I know the importance of vitamin A, how[...]

Bright Sight for a Bright Future

Diboke, age 13, and her younger sister Ebokolo, age 11, live in a happy yet modest home with their parents and family at Obobogo, a poor semi-urban area in Yaoundé, the capital city of Cameroon. The sisters attend the nearby St. Benedict Secondary School,[...]

Working Miracles to Preserve Sight

Anne Sullivan, known around the world as “the miracle worker” for her extraordinary achievements as Helen Keller’s teacher, overcame enormous challenges of her own. Born into poverty in Massachusetts in 1866, Anne lost much of her sight as a result of a[...]