Improving Health, Nutrition, and Livelihood

A man, woman, and young child sit on a wooden floor in a cozy traditional home.Over the past year, Helen Keller International has been working to bring our Homestead Food Production program to four districts of Ratanakiri Province in Cambodia, which is among the least developed countries in the world. The main objective of the project[...]

From Mother to Role Model

Hand holding a metal tray with sweet potatoes, eggs, milk, and peanuts.Manju Thekre is a 23 year old resident of Ragiwada Village in the Darchula district of Nepal, where she lives with her husband, 17-month-old daughter, mother-in-law, father-in-law, and brother-in-law. Manju is identified as a “1000 days mother,” referring[...]

Spillover Effect of Keeping Poultry in Semi-Intensive Coops

Three black chickens pecking at green grass inside a rustic wooden chicken coop.“I was inspired to construct a semi-intensive poultry coop after learning about its importance during a mothers’ group meeting at Tachai village. I could not continue to stand by while my poultry was ruining my neighbor’s Homestead Food Production (HFP)[...]

Village Model Farmer Makes Her Community a Model Community

Severely damaged multi-story building collapsed with rubble and broken wooden beams, showing the aftermath of a natural disaster.In the wake of the devastating 7.9 earthquake that hit Nepal this past April, we went to the Nuwakot district to conduct field level assessments and focus group discussions with the communities in order to understand what needed to be done in order to rebuild[...]

Alleviating Vitamin A Deficiency With OFSPs

A man and woman bending over to harvest leafy vegetables in a rural farm field.Orange Fleshed Sweet Potatoes (OFSPs) have been scientifically proven to be the best source of vitamin A to combat the rapidly rising effects of vitamin A deficiency, one of which being blindness. At Helen Keller, we believe that it is the responsibility of[...]

“Grab a Root and Hang On, We’ve Got to Get Through This!”

Woman in red sweater picking fresh cabbage heads in a lush vegetable garden."Grab a Root and Hang On, We've Got to Get Through This!"Ishowri is a Village Model Farmer (VMF) who lives in a small village in the Rasuwa district, situated in the north of Nepal’s central region. Most households in this community depend upon agriculture[...]

Spillover Effect of EHFP Program in Vietnam

Girl in striped shirt standing on dirt path beside garden with green plants and rustic wooden buildings in background.In one visit to the Tan Tuong village for bio-compost training, I met two young and brand new faces. They joined the training session attentively. I talked with them during the break, and they approached me and told me “We came here today to ask for your[...]

Bridging the Gap

Women wearing vibrant patterned dresses and headscarves gather outdoors in a rural setting, engaging in conversation and community activities.It is the start of the rainy season in northeastern Côte d’Ivoire’s Boudi village, and laughter mingles with the thunderous drops of a sudden downpour as residents recall their introduction to the Helen Keller International Nurturing Connections Gender[...]

Suchona Chakma’s Healthy Family

A family of four including a baby, mother, teenage girl, and father sitting closely in a wooden-paneled room, smiling and posing for a casual portrait.Suchona Chakma's Healthy FamilySuchona Chakma lives in Nobin Chandra in the Khagrachari district of Bangladesh with her two daughters and husband. They do not have any land or a house of their own so they are living with another household. Her husband is a[...]