2023 Year in Review: Forces for Good [Photo Essay]
Every day, members of the Helen Keller Intl community are choosing to be forces for good. Community health heroes, entrepreneurs, parents, youth, and Helen Keller staff work tirelessly to help improve health, nutrition, and vision for people in their[...] How Baking Bread is Changing Lives: The Success of Sweet Potatoes
Five years ago, a difficult economic situation forced Thaimu Banugura to leave his hometown, Jaiama Nimikoro Kono, in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Despite having completed his West African Certificate Exams to graduate from secondary school, Thaimu[...] Empowering Mothers: Transforming Nutrition in Rural Communities in Sierra Leone
In rural communities across Sierra Leone, limited access to nutritious and diverse food has been a constant concern. 33-year-old Mariama Koroma knows this reality all too well. A farmer and single mother of three children, Mariama lives in Rogbere village in[...] Looking Bravely: Supporting Nutrition for Expectant and Newborn Mothers
We recently spoke with Anita Agartha Kargbo, a program officer for nutrition in Sierra Leone. Anita has been part of the nutrition and research team at Helen Keller — which she calls her “dream organization” — since joining as an intern in 2010. With[...] Helping Mothers in Sierra Leone Build Brighter Futures for Themselves and Their Babies
In a small community health clinic in Matotoka township in the northern provinces of Sierra Leone, 25-year-old Kadiatu Bangura cradles her six-month-old baby, Gabriel, with pride. Nurse Aminata Conteh gives Gabriel four droplets of vitamin A, a crucial[...] Sierra Leone Poised for Liberation from “Bigfut” [A Photo Essay]
Once upon a time, lymphatic filariasis plagued the entire country of Sierra Leone. The parasite-borne neglected tropical disease, transmitted through mosquitos, causes severe swelling and painful enlargement of body parts. In Sierra Leone’s Krio language,[...] Nicholas Kristof Features Elephantiasis Elimination Work in The New York Times
As part of his annual win-a-trip series, New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof traveled to Sierra Leone with recent graduate Maddie Bender to “boosting interest among young people in global issues that don’t always get the attention they[...] Koinadugu Women Fight Hidden Hunger through Farming
On a frosty Sunday morning, a group of farmers wearing brightly colored African waist scarves, called lappas, gather together in front of Haja Conteh’s house in the Koinadugu district of Sierra Leone. The all-women farmers group, called “Denkola Two[...] Micro but Mighty: How Vitamin A Saves Lives [Photo Essay]
Thanks to a global community of donors, millions of children receive life-saving vitamin A every year. Click through our photo essay to learn more about this mighty micronutrient and how we are helping to improve children's health and well-being by increasing[...] Hunger Report: How we are combatting malnutrition and food insecurity
As a global pandemic endangered the world’s most vulnerable people, we responded swiftly, with a science-based strategy to address the far-reaching ripple effects of COVID-19, including rising poverty and extreme[...]