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Vulnerable Children in Sub-Saharan Africa

Building Resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa

About

The Helmsley Charitable Trust funds holistic approaches and programs to help ensure the well-being of vulnerable children and their families in sub-Saharan Africa. We work in remote communities in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Zambia where it is difficult to access healthcare and clean drinking water, children are malnourished, and there are few, if any, options for school.

Building resilience is at the core of our grantmaking. At the community level, resilience is the ability to bend, but not break, when a crisis hits. By learning from communities about the underlying problems that impede progress, we support the changes to turn that around -- with a clear focus on increasing access to essential health services, clean water, finance solutions, enhanced sanitation infrastructure, and nutrition.

We work with our grantees, their local implementing partners, community leaders, and government agencies to ensure that the efforts we support have the endorsement of relevant ministries to help advance long-term success.

To help create pathways for people to live better lives, leaders need access to the right information to make informed decisions that can drive positive changes. Our funding of Digital Earth Africa marks our commitment to ensuring governments, entrepreneurs, NGOs, and citizens alike have critical data and up-to-date technology to both monitor and make smart plans related to water quality and management, land use, and agriculture for food security, climate resilience, and more.

Pillars

Increasing Access to Quality Healthcare

Increasing Access to Quality Healthcare

IMPROVING MATERNAL AND INFANT HEALTHCARE

We fund programs that improve maternal and infant healthcare for parents and communities.

ADDRESSING COMMUNICABLE AND NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES

Life-threatening communicable diseases and increasing rates of non-communicable disease present major challenges at all ages – and when parents aren’t healthy, it’s harder for their children to stay healthy, too. Our grants help to prevent the spread of communicable diseases and decrease the rates of non-communicable diseases.

Supporting the Whole Person Through Community Strengthening

Supporting the Whole Person Through Community Strengthening

INVESTING IN BUILDING BLOCKS FOR STRONGER COMMUNITIES

We support a variety of initiatives to ensure that individuals and families have the chance to thrive. This includes expanding clean drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene best practices, ensuring food security, and creating access to financial tools and resources that are needed to reduce poverty, improve educational experiences, and put communities on a path to self-reliance.

News & Insights

Philanthropy Age: New $22.5m Commitment for Disease Elimination Campaign

April 28, 2022

Philanthropy Age: New $22.5m Commitment for Disease Elimination Campaign

Philanthropy Age covered Helmsley’s investment in the Reaching the Last Mile Fund to advance the efforts to treat and eliminate two neglected tropical diseases in...

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Helmsley Charitable Trust Announces Catalytic Investment to Eliminate Two Neglected Tropical Diseases in East Africa

April 26, 2022

Helmsley Charitable Trust Announces Catalytic Investment to Eliminate Two Neglected Tropical Diseases in East Africa

Abu Dhabi, April 26, 2022 – The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust announced an historic investment to eliminate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)...

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Improving Maternal Health with Clean Water Access in Zambia

April 19, 2022

Improving Maternal Health with Clean Water Access in Zambia

Only 1 in 5 rural healthcare facilities in Zambia has running water, decent toilets, and soap for handwashing. Without these essentials, patients, newborns, new moms,...

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March 9, 2022

WaterAid and Helmsley Launch Program to Improve Water, Sanitation & Hygiene in Ghana

“We’re working hand in hand with communities and the government to find long-term solutions that can scale throughout the country,” said…

September 17, 2021

WaterAid and Helmsley Charitable Trust Launch Program to Bring Clean Water to Health Centers Across Zambia

New York, NY—WaterAid and the Helmsley Charitable Trust announce the launch of a three-year program to improve access to water, sanitation and hygiene in health centers, reaching 750,000 people across Zambia. With a $6.9 million grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust, WaterAid will construct clean water infrastructure for health centers in Monze, Kazungula, Mwandi and Sesheke districts. The work will…

June 14, 2021

Helmsley Grants $20 Million to EMI for Improvements to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) in Rural Alaska

Helmsley and EMI work to build community health in rural Alaska COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust today announced a new $20 million grant to Engineering Ministries International (EMI) for improvements to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in rural Alaska. This three-year grant will support efforts for sustainable and affordable water and sewer…

June 5, 2020

Helmsley Grant Enables COVID-19 Research Study to Move into Pre-Clinical Phase

A grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to Monash University will fully fund the important next steps in research on the use of the FDA approved, anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin…

October 1, 2019

Helmsley Reinvests in A Glimmer of Hope with $8 Million Grant

Project in Rural Ethiopia Will Build Income, Nutrition for 19,000 Families. A Glimmer of Hope is launching a new project with support from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to reduce poverty and improve long-term well-being for a community of 19,000 families in rural Ethiopia. The project will support income growth, food security, and better opportunities for…

June 27, 2019

WaterAid and Helmsley Partner to Improve Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Thousands of People in Burkina Faso

Today WaterAid announced the launch of a three-year program to improve access to water, sanitation and hygiene, aiming to reach 38,500 people in Burkina Faso. With a $1.7 million grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust, WaterAid will construct or repair clean water facilities and accessible toilet blocks for 50 schools in the Center-East region and provide hygiene education to thousands…

Recent Grants

Nuru International

Amount: $ 2,250,000.00
Term of Grant: 36 Months
Date of Award: 04.26.2023

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Amount: $ 2,990,484.00
Term of Grant: 36 Months
Date of Award: 04.12.2023

Geoscience Australia

Amount: $ 6,604,232.00
Term of Grant: 36 Months
Date of Award: 02.08.2023

A Glimmer of Hope Foundation

Amount: $ 4,800,000.00
Term of Grant: 36 Months
Date of Award: 12.20.2022

Aquaya Institute

Amount: $ 1,492,399.00
Term of Grant: 36 Months
Date of Award: 11.22.2022
VIEW ALL GRANTS
Recent Grants

Our Team

Trista Kontz-Bartels

Trista Kontz-Bartels is the Program Director of Helmsley’s Vulnerable Children in Sub-Saharan Africa Program, which seeks to provide at-risk children with greater access to education, improved ...


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Trista Kontz-Bartels

Program Director

Sherilyn Goldammer

Sherilyn (Sheri) Goldammer is a Program Officer for the Vulnerable Children in Sub-Saharan Program at the Helmsley Charitable Trust. In her role, she works closely with the Program Director to m ...


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Sherilyn Goldammer

Program Officer

Job Change

Job Change (Chan-gay) is an Associate Program Officer with the Helmsley Charitable Trust’s Vulnerable Children in Sub-Saharan Africa Program. Job was born and raised in Kenya before immigra ...


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Job Change

Associate Program Officer