Today is International Day for Disaster Reduction. What, you didn’t know? Me either, until I read a post on The Guardian‘s Poverty Matters blog.

It’s the brainchild of the U.N.’s International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. This years theme: My City Is Getting Ready! (The exclamation point is theirs, not mine.) In light of the earthquake in Haiti, flooding in Pakistan and Poland, and other natural disasters affecting cities this year, their choice of themes seems rather prescient.

Learn more about what Heifer International is doing to safeguard the urban poor, as well as those left behind in rural areas as populations move toward the cities.