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Heifer International's mission is to work with communities to end world hunger and poverty and to care for the Earth.
HUNGER WORKFarming is the most core, elemental human role. It has been the foundation of thriving civilizations and societies. Heifer believes it is no different today. That's why Heifer works with communities and small-scale farmers, many of them women. They see our future in them. Heifer knows that with the right tools, training and livestock, small farms in impoverished nations can be transformed. They believe small farms are key to feeding the entire world.
Heifer believes that hard work will bring about a better tomorrow and solutions for poverty. And that it will take all of us collectively to create sustainable change.
Heifer’s work is based off 12 guiding principles which serve as the foundation for value-based community development, they enable the catalysts for invested change.
The core of those principles is Passing on the Gift. For each livestock gift, families agree to pass on the offspring of that animal to another person in need. In some places, 22 generations of Heifer animals can be traced. On average, Passing on the Gift lasts for at least nine generations, no matter the project.
All content courtesy of Heifer International.
THE CAUSEThere are more than 800 million hungry people in the world.
The world produces enough food for everyone to live a healthy, productive life. The challenge is not a lack of food — it’s making food consistently available to everyone who needs it.
Ending hunger can lay the foundation for progress in many other areas of development, including health, education and economic development.
THE FACTSOne in every nine people goes to bed hungry each night.
Sixty percent of the world’s hungry are women and girls.
Every 10 seconds, a child dies from hunger-related causes.
More than 75 percent of the world’s malnourished children live in countries affected by conflict.
Up to one-third of the food produced around the world is never consumed.
THE FUNDThe Global Impact Hunger Fund brings together four of the most respected, best-in-the-business, international organizations focused on ending global hunger.
Through this fund, you will join with millions of people to change the world by helping to provide education to teach more productive agricultural practices, distribute food, help farmers adapt to climate change, and teach families about nutrition and diet around the world.
Your contributions go directly to supporting real and meaningful work to end global hunger.
WHERE WE WORK AND WHAT WE DO
My husband and I had been buying vegetable seeds to grow in our garden for years. However, with the money we had, we could only buy one packet of seeds at a time. We usually grew only two batches with one packet. The harvest of vegetables from the garden was only enough for our family's consumption. So when we ran out of the seeds, we just had to stop eating vegetables until we could afford to buy seeds again.
In April 2013, Church World Service [(CWS), a Global Impact charity partner], gave away various vegetable seeds at Posyandu. I got Chinese cabbage, red peppers, long bean, green bean, and eggplant seeds. I have grown them in my garden, with each type of vegetable grown in a one-by-four lot. We harvested early this month and have included vegetables in every meal since. My husband went to the market to sell some produce we did not consume. And we bought some fishes and other daily needs with the money.
I know from the info session about nutrition held by CWS at the Posyandu that vegetables contain vitamins and minerals that are needed by our body, especially during early childhood development. As a lactating mother, it’s very important for me to eat nutritious food as well as for my two-month-old baby. It’s also essential for my five other kids’ development. Consuming vegetables every day will keep my family and myself healthy.
We started the next planting batch right after we harvested. We will be harvesting more in the end of June. I’m happy and glad that CWS helped us. Now, not only we could fulfill our vitamin and mineral needs from the vegetables, we can also fulfill our protein needs from the money we earned from selling the produce. I’m now more motivated in farming than ever.
All content courtesy of Church World Service.
In 2008, Linus and Leston Mugala had just found out they would soon be part of a project sponsored by Heifer International, a Global Impact charity partner. The Mugala’s were so poor and undernourished that Linus feared for her children’s lives.
“Our standard of living was very poor,” Linus said. “Our children did not have enough food. We couldn’t manage to send our children to school because we lacked money.”
Their total earnings for the entire year were just $54. But that would soon change. After completing trainings that included animal husbandry and health, Linus received her livestock, a milk bucket and veterinary medicines.
The first big change was the milk they received from the cow. In fact, there was not only enough milk for the entire family to drink, but also enough left over to sell for income. Their growing herd of dairy cows now produces 11 gallons of milk a day and the family earns about $8,700 a year from milk sales alone.
In just five years, the Mugala family has changed dramatically.
BEFORE Heifer, the only livestock Linus could afford to purchase was a few chickens that never provided enough income to support the family.
AFTER receiving her Heifer dairy cows, Linus and her family were able to save enough money to invest in additional animals. Today, there are 25 chickens, 10 cattle, 24 pigs and 6,000 fish on the farm.
BEFORE Linus received her dairy cow, money was so scarce that school for the children was out of reach.
AFTER they were able to earn a steady income from their thriving farm, the children all go to school.
BEFORE the project, Linus and her children never knew from where their next meal would come.
AFTER receiving an opportunity from Heifer, the family now eats three meals a day.
The Mugala family is now not only able to feed themselves, but they have even been able to empower other families by Passing on the Gift.
All content courtesy of Heifer International.
English and biology are 16-year-old Durete Abulla’s favorite subjects in school; someday she would like to become a doctor. But in rural Ethiopian communities like Ilancho, where Abulla lives, encouraging girls to continue with their educations is not always a priority for families, especially if money is tight. Marriage is often the preferred option.
But Halkane Bagajo, Abulla’s mother, is determined that not be the fate of her daughter. Now, thanks to a pair of sheep, both Abulla and Bagajo may see their dreams come true.
The sheep—and goats—were part of a distribution arranged by The Center for Development Initiatives (CDI), which works with Oxfam, a Global Impact charity partner. The livestock was distributed to help struggling farming families in the West Arsi Zone build resilience to the droughts that plague their region. For many Ethiopians, livestock is like money in the bank: When they need cash to pay for essentials such as food—or school—they sell an animal. And the small ones, like goats and sheep, reproduce quickly, helping families build a financial safety net while also nourishing households with milk.
For 114 girls in five communities in West Arsi, the goats or sheep they received means their families now have the resources to ensure they can stay in school.
“We found it is the best approach to continuing their education,” said CDI’s Tamrat Belay.
One of Abulla’s sheep has already given birth to a pair of lambs. And once they’ve grown a little, the money they will fetch at market will help her parents defray the cost of Abulla’s lodging in the distant town where her next school is located.
But for now, Abulla, who is in seventh grade, has just a 20-minute walk to her school. Her classes are held in the mornings only.
“I hope she will not get married early and she completes all levels of education and becomes someone great,” says Bagajo, who never had the chance to go to school herself and doesn’t know how to read or write. Instead, she relies on Abulla to read important documents to her such as the flier Bagajo received recently offering advice on how to save—advice she took to heart.
For her part, Abulla appreciates the opportunity her mother is giving her, especially given the local attitudes about education for girls.
“This wrong perception of the community will change if someone becomes a model,” says Abulla. “Then people will learn from that experience.”
All content courtesy of Oxfam America.
After the devastating earthquake of 2010 in Haiti, Marylyn Wesley, a mother of five, struggled to provide for her children. With support from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), she learned to cultivate beans—and sow hope.
Wesley owned a small, barren field in Bas Boen, a village about 12 miles from the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince. She struggled to grow crops, but lacked farming experience and technical know-how. The main breadwinner of the family, she was forced to seek work elsewhere.
“I faced enormous trouble earning a living after the earthquake. I worked at various places to feed my children, which was extremely hard,” Wesley said.
She was not alone. Others in the area lacked resources for cultivating crops and also wound up with barren fields. UMCOR initiated a program in Bas Boen to turn these barren lands into lush, green fields. The program, “Enhancing Agriculture Production,” provided 800 villagers with farming inputs and technical training in soil preparation, crop production, harvesting, and water conservation.
Wesley joined the program as a beneficiary. She learned technical skills for sowing and harvesting beans, and also received bean seeds for planting. With her new knowledge, she successfully harvested a first crop of 132 pounds of beans for home consumption and for sale in the market.
Now Wesley is better able to provide for her family. “I was so delighted to see my children have food three times a day,” she said. She also earned enough money to cover school fees for her 7-year-old daughter.
Inspired by her success, Wesley is planning to lease additional land and grow more crops. “I am already dreaming of the next harvest,” she said.
All content courtesy of United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).
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