Helen Keller International

Since 1989, Helen Keller International (HKI), an international non-profit organization (INGO), has been working in Nepal to promote nutrition and the nutritional status of early children through programs and the involvement of women as well as programs supported by research. Co-founder Helen Keller had a vision of a society free from constraints on human potential. We provide vulnerable Families with life-altering healthcare in locations with high access needs. Since it was established in 1915, its mission has expanded beyond helping World War I veterans who become blind while serving in the military. As we address significant global health issues including malnutrition and neglected diseases that endanger sight, productivity, and well-being, its programs now place a priority on preventing and treating vision loss and blindness. There are already more than 120 program wells in 21 different nations.

Vision

• A world without barriers to sight, health, and human potential

Mission

• To eliminating preventable vision loss, malnutrition, and diseases of poverty.

Function of HKI

• Saving Sight

  • US Vision Care
    • Since 1994, Helen Keller International has provided free vision screenings for more than 2 million children in the United States and provided more than 300,000 of them with prescription eyeglasses to solve common vision problems.
  • Preventing Blindness and Diabetes
    • It trains doctors in prevention and treatment of diabetic retinopathy and help educate communities most at risk for diabetes-related vision loss in Bangladesh and Indonesia countries which have seen an explosive increase in diabetes.
  • Cataract Surgery
    • We are improving access to high-quality affordable cataract surgeries for poor and  remote communities in under-served regions of Asia 
  • Programs for Children with Special Needs
    •  It is improving access to quality education for children living with blindness and other disabilities in Africa and Asia.

• Nourishing Family

  • Eliminating Malnutrition
    • The causes of malnutrition that directly and indirectly endanger the health and wellbeing of newborns, young children, and mothers are our main focus. We collaborate with local partners in 20 nations to address global problems like starvation and avoidable blindness that disproportionately affect the most disadvantaged people on the planet. Our top priorities in terms of remedies are encouraging exclusive breastfeeding, educating caregivers about proper nutrition and hygiene, giving supplements to expectant mothers and babies, empowering households to raise food on small-scale farms, and bolstering community-based health care. Our well-known "family farming for nutrition" initiatives encourage people to grow a wider variety of nutrient-dense food sources and include them into their regular diets.

• COVID-19: Safeguarding Vulnerable families

  • Helen Keller Intl staff are at work in hard-hit communities in Africa, Asia and the United States, confronting the imminent dangers posed by the pandemic including a mounting hunger crisis.

• Knowledge Resources

  • It provides a key selection of publications from Helen Keller International affiliates, including books, peer-reviewed articles, training manuals, and research or program briefs written by Helen Keller staff that highlight the lessons it has learned over the years as a pioneer in programs for nutrition, eye health, and neglected tropical diseases.
  • Major programme focus in Nepal are:
    • Suaahara II (Good Nutrition) Program
    • SABAL-Nutrition- Community Resilience program
    • Nutrition-Child Feeding ARCH 3.0
    • Study on relationship between maternal exposure to Mycotoxins on birth