Speaking Technically: Dr. Al Sommer on the Surprising Discovery of Vitamin A
In the 1970s, experts from Helen Keller Intl spearheaded research on vitamin A that has helped save millions of lives and shaped the organization’s work for decades. Dr. Al Sommer, now Professor and Dean Emeritus of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, led one of the studies that resulted in a groundbreaking discovery […]
Saving Sight and Lives with Micro but Mighty Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a micronutrient that is critical to children’s growing bodies and brains. A single capsule of vitamin A – at a little more than $1 each – given to children twice a year until their fifth birthday can literally save their sight and lives. However, vitamin A-rich foods are also often either not […]
3 Things I’m Optimistic About in 2024
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. Helen Keller On January 1st, I stepped into some very big shoes as Helen Keller Intl’s new President and Chief Executive Officer. Together, we are 20 countries strong, helping more than 70 million children and family members create lasting […]
Building Upon Our Legacy of Health, Nutrition, and Vision
Over the past several decades, Helen Keller Intl has continued to expand our ability to help people around the world create lasting change in their own lives. Today, we reach more than 70 million children and family members across 20 countries with the essential building blocks of sound health, good nutrition, and clear vision. We […]
Helping People See True Potential
Impaired vision can cause long-lasting challenges for children and adults throughout their lives. In childhood, poor vision will make it more difficult for a student to fully engage in the classroom and with her peers, putting her education at risk. This can start a downward spiral, especially for a child already experiencing poverty. As she […]
Sweet Potatoes: Nutrition, Economic Security, and Inspiration
In her village in west central Burkina Faso, 34-year-old Kacoara Dahourou, a mother of four, knows firsthand the hardships of financial insecurity and hunger. Growing nutritious foods in a region that receives little rain – and finding affordable foods close to home – has long been a challenge for her. She also harbors a lingering fear that […]
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 struggled to find work in his new home of Makeni in Sierra Leone’s Northern Province, and he […]
Women at the heart of our work
Women are the cornerstones of many families. They oversee home life — raising the children, preparing meals, even fetching water — and they bear responsibility for part, if not all, of their families’ livelihoods. In times of struggle, women often put others’ needs ahead of their own. In many ways, women are society’s glue: they […]
Helen Keller’s Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potatoes Lead Nutrition in Nepal
52-year-old Bishwo Nepal and his wife Gayatri Nepal remember almost losing their whole harvest the first year they farmed. Only one crop survived: orange-fleshed sweet potatoes. Bishwo was able to sell his sweet potato harvest earning enough money to save the family farm and perhaps their livelihood. The couple lives in the Bahrabise Municipality, in […]
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 micronutrient that helps build strong immune systems and protect vision, especially for children under the age of […]
