Ana with her family’s cow, Mariposa, which means “Butterfly”

Many poor families are unable to send their children to school. All too often girls are required to give up their education first.

Ana lives in Western Honduras with her parents, Samuel and Maria, and her two brothers, Melvin and Erlin. Ana’s family was very poor. They often had a hard time finding enough to eat. “We didn’t earn enough to buy our own food,” Samuel said, and her family’s small rocky plot of land grew only weeds.

A few years ago Ana’s family became part of a Heifer project. They received a cow and training to improve their land using simple conservation techniques and manure to restore the soil’s fertility. “Now we have it really well farmed,” said Samuel.

Ana’s parents only completed the third grade, so they are making sure that all their children have the opportunity to go school. “We hope they have a better future than we had,” said Maria.

Ana is doing well in school. She was recently singled out as the best student in her first grade class. Now with plenty of milk to drink and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, Ana and her family have a bright future.

Christian DeVries is interviewing project participants in Honduras on behalf of Heifer International. This is the third in a series of posts he’s sending from the field. You can read his earlier posts here.