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A searchable database of over 200 International NGOs operating in China.
The material presented here was compliled mainly on the basis of information supplied (and / or published) by the organisations profiled. We have made every effort to ensure fairness and accuracy, but should make clear to readers that these are independent portraits, not 'authorised' biographies.
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| Helen Keller International (海伦凯勒国际基金会)
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Helen Keller International (海伦凯勒国际基金会)
Mission: “To save the sight and lives of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged by combating the causes and consequences of blindness and malnutrition.”
In China since: 1988
Annual China budget: Approximately $200,000
Number of staff: 12 full-time; 250 community volunteers
Mainland China contact:
Mingguang He (何明光) - Country Representative
Helen Keller International
Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center
Sun Yat-Sen University of Medical Sciences
Room 1014, 54 Xianlie South Road
Guangzhou 510060
Tel: +86 (0)20 87331109
Fax: +86 (0)20 87331903
Activities in Other Countries: 25 countries across Asia, Africa and the Americas
Helen Keller International (HKI), founded in 1915, is among the oldest international NPOs devoted to fighting and treating preventable blindness.
HKI is named after Alabama-born Helen Adams Keller, one of the organization’s founding trustees, who overcame deafness and blindness to inspire both the historical and contemporary development of the organisation. By age 10 Keller had regained speech and went on to receive high academic honours, later becoming a writer, lecturer, as well as a social activist and champion of the disabled.
Originally HKI was founded by a survivor of the Lusitania, sunk during World War I, when it was known as the ‘British, French, Belgian Permanent Blind Relief War Fund’ and dedicated to helping veterans blinded in the war. Its first offices officially opened in Paris in 1918 and New York State in 1919.
The inter- and post-war years saw two name changes to reflect HKI’s changing priorities. In 1925, it was renamed the American Braille Press for War and Civilian Blind, and after World War II became the American Foundation for Overseas Blind to reflect its affiliation with the American Foundation for the Blind. It was not until 1977 that the organisation became known as Helen Keller International in tribute to the contributions of Helen Keller, who died in 1968.
In 2005 the organisation celebrated its 90th anniversary during which time operations have expanded to 25 countries. Partnerships now span the medical community, government and non-governmental agencies in programmes that address cataract, onchocerciasis, refractive error, and trachoma, vitamin A and micronutrient supplementation, food fortification, school- and community- gardening programs as well as school health activities and nutritional surveillance.
Work in China began in 1988 supporting cataract surgery training for nearly 800 Chinese ophthalmologists, with key partners at Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center in Guangzhou. In 2001 a low-cost community model for cataract delivery was also established through collaborative clinics set up in three disadvantaged regions in Guangdong. To date this has performed over 6000 operations, targeting the poor and bilateral blind people.
Since 1999, HKI has been involved with UNICEF’s efforts to establish a national vitamin A supplementation programme. HKI also has an ongoing relationship with the World Health Organization and has provided technical assistance to a trachoma assessment, including support in setting up a trichiasis surgical outreach program. More recently HKI has also assisted in an assessment of the prevalence of refractive error in Chinese school-aged children in Guangdong.
Funding for HKI’s work comes from a broad mix of individuals, corporations and foundations (25%), government agencies (25%) and gifts in-kind (40%.) Total income in 2003 totalled USD 41 million, which included significant contributions from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and the Starr Foundation, which currently funds the cataract programme in China.
Links
http://www.hki.org/network/China.html
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