168 w h y c h i l d r e n l o s e t h e i r v i s i o n a n d w h a t w e c a n d o
We can’t feed
our children
enough food
because of
high prices.
What can
we do?
I think
we should
start a food
cooperative.
Together, we
could buy large
amounts of
food. Then the
food will cost
less.
Gardening to prevent blindness
In Bangladesh, thousands of children go blind every year because they
do not eat enough foods that have vitamin A. Delwara Hasina lives in a
village in Bangladesh with her husband and 3 children. Although Mrs.
Hasina has no blind children in her own family, she and other people in
her village decided to help prevent blindness. So she contacted Banchte
Shekha, an organization of women helping other women in rural
villages.
At Banchte Shekha, Mrs. Hasina learned that certain fruits and
vegetables contain enough vitamin A to prevent blindness. She also got
training on how to grow vegetables from Banchte Shekha workers who
had been trained earlier by Helen Keller International, an organization
that works the world over to prevent blindness. Now Mrs. Hasina grows
vegetables on a small plot (30 square meters) next to her home and on
another plot the same size next to her parents’ home.
“Before, our gardening was seasonal and we grew only a few things
like bottle gourd and beans,” Mrs. Hasina said. “Now, we grow more
than 10 varieties of vegetables, spices, and fruits all year round.” She
and other women are encouraging families to start gardens. It does not
take much space to grow enough vegetables with vitamin A for a family.
“I cook some of my family’s daily meal from the garden,” she says. “My
children like red amaranth (lal shak) and Indian spinach, which I grow
throughout the year.”
Mrs. Hasina sells her extra produce in the local village market. She
uses the money to buy additional food and educational materials for her
children. “The amount of money is small, but it helps me to meet the
children’s needs,” she said.
Mrs. Hasina’s garden is one of more than 600,000 household gardens
in Bangladesh that are part of this international gardening project. See
page 188 for information about how to contact Helen Keller International
and start gardens in your community.
helping children who are blind