Life During the Harvest

  The Harvest Basket: In the Sahel in West Africa – a semi-arid region just south of the Sahara desert — the rain falls in a short intense monsoon season from June to September. The main staple crops, such as pearl millet, are grown during this season,[...]

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. [...]

Village Women Making Money from Homegrown Food

“Since I started planting vegetables in May 2014 in our yard, I haven’t spent money anymore to buy green vegetables. Instead, I earn at least IDR 100,000 (approximately USD $8) each month from the sale of those vegetables. And that amount hasn’t even[...]

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[...]

Combating River Blindness in Sierra Leone

It was on an Helen Keller Intl Board trip to Sierra Leone in February 2014 that our group visited a small rural village en route to another location. We stopped at a health clinic to meet with members of the staff, some patients, and residents of the[...]

The Spirit to Help

When the 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal on April 25, late morning on a Saturday, many of us were unprepared for what would follow. The last big earthquake at this scale was almost 80 years ago. In what seemed like the ground was moving constantly, we experienced[...]

Village Nurseries to Support Sustainable Homestead Production

Working hard to make a living is not something new for Alveret Tloim, 38, a father of two from Mella village. After graduating from high school, he sold water around the village, served as a conductor on public transportation, and other odd jobs to help his[...]

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[...]

Helping People See

Soon after I graduated from the University of Nairobi with a degree in Ophthalmology, I worked in an eye hospital where I would see up to 100 patients a day and perform 100 surgeries a week. When I moved to Ethiopia, I worked for the government in[...]