One Bridge of Hope center, in partnership with a humanitarian organization, took on the task of fighting one of the common ailments: blindness.
A cure they can’t afford.
In their region, green leafy vegetables and other sources of Vitamin A are almost completely absent in children’s diets. This isn’t because the children don’t want to eat their vegetables—it’s because they can’t. The food that poor families can afford is very limited and often doesn’t include vegetables.
This is tragic because cases of severe Vitamin A deficiencies can lead to weakened immune systems, blindness or even death.
Knowing that children younger than five are particularly vulnerable to this deficiency, the Bridge of Hope staff designed a seminar to teach about the importance of vitamins. They handed out pamphlets, spoke to the children and their parents and then distributed vitamins to each child.
The program started at this Bridge of Hope center has spread to other centers in South Asia over the last two years, providing vitamins to more than 5,000 children.
