Author Archives: Annie Bergman

About Annie Bergman

As Senior Writer for Heifer International, Annie Bergman is the primary travel writer for the nonprofit organization’s World Ark magazine. Bergman has interviewed survivors of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, beekeepers in Honduras, women’s groups in India and war widows in Kosovo in her four years at Heifer. Bergman received her bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma and a master’s degree in Australian Aboriginal Studies from the University of Melbourne in Australia. Her hobbies include hiking, golfing, cooking, reading and walking her dogs.

World Hunger Day 2013 is May 28

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Hunger is something that each and every one of us here at Heifer confronts every day. We are constantly working to raise awareness of the nearly 1 billion people who live with chronic hunger. For those outside the walls, it’s easy to forget that hunger is a real problem, but one that has real, sustainable solutions. World Hunger Day serves as a reminder to all of us about this dire problem, and also celebrates the achievements of those who have found a way out of the cycle of hunger and poverty.

Heifer’s approach to ending hunger and poverty has been proven time and again in our 70 years. Ours is a long-term strategy that emphasizes community involvement. Much training and preparation is required before families receive a livestock gift from Heifer. These animal gifts help families increase income, which paves the way for more education, improved living conditions, access to bigger markets and many other benefits. Heifer’s third-party evaluations have consistently shown improvements in the areas of livestock care and management, education and empowerment.

Last-minute gifts from Heifer International.

Photo by Jake Lyell, courtesy of Heifer International.

This World Hunger Day, I’ll be remembering and celebrating those Heifer project participants I’ve had the pleasure to meet personally. Like Hoang Anh Tuan, who has turned a $100 micro-loan and cows from Heifer into a thriving farm. He is sending his son to college, and just bought a new bicycle for his eldest daughter to ride to a school for students gifted in mathematics, physics and chemistry.

But Hoang Anh Tuan is just one of the 18.5 million families Heifer has helped rise out of hunger and poverty. This World Hunger Day we’ll be celebrating our work with those families while recognizing that we still have much to do—and recommitting to that work which is before us.

Join Heifer in helping end hunger worldwide, or get involved in the World Hunger Day 2013 activities so you, too, can help provide a path out of hunger for those still suffering.

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Heifer Supports Bike to Work Day

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Bike to Work Day started about a decade ago here in Central Arkansas and in the past couple of years and has become part of “Ditch the Keys Week” — a campaign to improve air quality in the Natural State that starts today. And as you well know, each project we implement has environmental aspects to it to help fulfill the part of our mission that speaks to caring for the Earth.

There are a number of Heifer employees who bike to work themselves, and a number of our project participants use bicycles as their primary mode of transporting goods to market. In East Africa, for example, many participants carry milk to cooling plants on the backs of bikes.

Still, most of us here at Headquarters do what we can protect the planet we call home. That’s why Heifer fully supports Central Arkansas’ Bike to Work Day 2013, which is Friday, May 17.

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Each day has a different theme to how you can do your part to prevent high ozone days:

Monday, May 13 Carpool to school/work

Tuesday, May 14 Walk to school/work

Wednesday, May 15 Ride the bus to school/work

Thursday, May 16 Car-free lunch

Friday, May 17 Bike to Work Day

Even if you don’t have your own bike, these other days make it possible to participate and save a little gas at the same time. You can also become part of the community pledging to make roads safer for those who do bike at People for Bikes.

Though there is this one week set aside to remember our air quality, consider carpooling or biking to work more often than just Friday to help really make a dent in improving our Earth.

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New World Ark Magazine Out Now

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For the people of Sayon in the southern Philippines, a typhoon was a new and terrible experience. So when Typhoon Bopha ripped through their small village in December, most were unprepared. Many people there lost their homes and livelihoods, which for Heifer project participants, that meant seeing livestock and crops wash away. In the May edition of World Ark, which is in mailboxes this week, you can read about Heifer’s work in the aftermath of the typhoon, and how we are implementing Disaster Risk Reduction training so that people can take steps to mitigate the effects of future natural disasters.Cover

Or you can read about what it’s like to scale Mount Kilimanjaro, which is exactly what writer Kelly MacNeil did as part of a team with employees from Heifer partner Elanco Animal Health. The team collectively raised more than $8,000 for Heifer with the climb.

And while you’re reading, check out the interview with former first lady Laura Bush. She is chair of a program at the Bush Institute that empowers Egyptian women at a critical time for democracy and women’s rights in their country.

We also have stories from a Heifer literacy project in Cambodia, and a fascinating look at what affect climate change is having on the pastoralists in the Sahel region of Africa.

As always there are gorgeous photos and intriguing infographics to peruse as well. The page-turner edition is a great way to view the magazine, but don’t forget to check out World Ark’s app on the iPad and Android tablets, too.

Happy reading!

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Young Heifer Fundraiser Nominated for National Scholarship

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Ever since we received a letter about Ryan Bell almost three years ago, we’ve known there was something extra special about him. He hasn’t had the easiest go in life, but he’s never let his differences stand in his way. And despite his hardships, Ryan has always wanted to make life easier for others.

As a 10-year old, Ryan convinced his family that they really could be doing more with their annual penny auction fundraiser that benefited both Heifer and a local charity. He just wasn’t satisfied with the amount they were able to donate.

In the past two years, with the help of his family, friends and his community, Ryan has raised nearly $40,000 for Heifer International. And he just doesn’t quit. When Ryan reached his lofty goal of raising $25,000 for Heifer just before Christmas of 2012, his first thought was that he should go for another Gift Ark, or $5,000 more. When he reached THAT goal, he immediately said he wanted to go for $50,000.

Ryan Bell shows off the certificate he received indicating he was nominated for the Kohl's Cares Scholarship Program. Ryan's teachers nominated him for his work fundraising for Heifer International among other volunteer endeavors.

Ryan Bell shows off the certificate he received indicating he was nominated for the Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program. Ryan’s teachers nominated him for his work fundraising for Heifer International among other volunteer endeavors.

His giving spirit hasn’t just captured the attention of those of us here at Heifer, either. Laura Bell, Ryan’s Mom, just let us know that Ryan’s team of teachers at his school in Connecticut recently nominated him for the Kohl’s Cares Scholarship.

That scholarship is given by the retailer every year to recognize “young volunteers across the country for their amazing contributions to their communities,” the Kohl’s website says. The criteria for the scholarship indicate that volunteer efforts must have occurred in the last year, and that winners are selected based on the benefits and outcomes of their volunteer service.

With Ryan’s record of fundraising, and his reputation at school as a Student of the Month and as part of the Student Government group where he’s organized other fundraisers, his team of  teachers put together the nomination form and essay and submitted it on Ryan’s behalf.

“He was too funny,” Laura said. “The six teachers called him into a room which was otherwise empty. He said it looked like he was in trouble and they joked with him that he was and then presented the certificate. He was so excited!”

Laura said there are winners at the local, regional and national level, but Ryan won’t find out if he’s a winner of the local scholarship until May.The regional winner will be announced in June and the national winner in July. Prizes range from a $50 gift card to the store up to a $10,000 in scholarship for National Winners.

Whatever the outcome, we’re proud just to know Ryan. It’s an honor knowing he’s our supporter, and is sharing our mission with others. So good luck, Ryan! We’ll be anxiously awaiting to hear whether you’ve been selected for the scholarship. You should know you’re already a winner to all of us here at Heifer.

To help Ryan reach his $50,000 goal, visit his Team Heifer page. 

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Heifer Around the Web: Armenian Youth, Spring Break and Learning Swahili

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Every Sunday we highlight some of the people who are funding our work creatively or helping us spread the word of our mission online. If you spot Heifer International while you’re surfing the web or know of a fun or creative fundraising effort, please share it with us here in the comments.

Asma Lateef, Director of the Bread for the World Institute, mentioned Heifer in her article “Why Development Works” that was featured in The Huffington Post this week. Lateef wrote about farmers in Ghana who are participants in Heifer projects there. She cited Heifer as one of the contributors to the reduction in poverty in that nation.

A Heifer International farmer in Accra, Ghana.

A Heifer International farmer in Accra, Ghana.

This week, Heifer Armenia helped award “young entrepreneurial champions” at its 2013 Business Forum. Since 2004, Heifer Armenia has helped disadvantaged rural youth, primarily through establishing rural Youth Empowered for Self-reliance (YES) Clubs which teaches  Animal Husbandry, Ecology, Health, Civic Education, Logical Thinking, Journalism and Business Education. Last year, Armenian youth established 189 micro-businesses through this program between Heifer Armenia and Development Principles.

For many students in Arkansas, this week was the much anticipated Spring Break! Heifer Village hosted activities each day, including one in which kids create their own sheep craft to take home. The craft taught them about wool that can be made into gloves, scarfs, blankets.

After raising money through Read to Feed, elementary school students in Campbellsville, Kentucky, had a special presentation on the book Beatrice’s Goat. Alpha Rwirangira, who is from Rwanda and also attends Campbellsville University, taught the students about African culture. They also learned a bit of Swahili from Rwirangira, and together the students and their guest speaker sang “Mary Had A Little Lamb” in his native tongue.

Another school participating in Heifer’s Read to Feed program got great news this week. Hutchinson Middle School in Lubbock, Texas, had raised $5,000 for Heifer, but found out that an anonymous donor had matched their donation for a total of $11,200 dollars.

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Heifer Honduras Helping Women-led Small Business

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Falguni Vyas is traveling with Heifer CEO Pierre Ferrari this week visiting projects in Honduras and Guatemala.

Belen-Ocotepeque in Santa Rosa-Belen, Honduras, sits just off a winding, bumpy road high in the Honduran hills. This small, rural community is home to 10 women entrepreneurs who, two years ago, started a small business canning vegetables and preserving jellies to sell at market to supplement their income. These women come together about once a month to prepare their Pitillo brand products for the market. They sell locally and will sometimes take the early morning, two-and-a-half-hour-long bus ride to San Pedro Sula, one of Honduras’ largest cities, to sell at a larger market.

The group of 10 women who started a business canning vegetables and preserving jellies.

The group of  women who started a business canning vegetables and preserving jellies with Heifer CEO Pierre Ferrari and Vice President of the Americans Oscar Castaneda.

On the outside, it looks as though the conditions are perfect for a such a venture. Pickled vegetables are a popular condiment in Honduras, and there are no other competitors in Belen. However, there is not enough demand for each of the women in the co-op to make a significant contribution to their household’s monthly income. The co-op was founded to serve as a means to augment the families’ main source of income, which comes from coffee laboring during the harvest season—from October to January. But with low demand combined with low profit (each jar costs about $2.50 to produce and sells for $3) the co-op members realized they need to get creative and seek out opportunities for their pickles and preserves to bring in the revenue they need.

Last year the co-op applied to put the Pitillo product line into supermarkets across Honduras. This is a lengthy process with many steps. First, a bar-code is needed for the labels, requiring lots of paperwork. Then, the co-op must pass a sanitation and health inspection. Lastly comes another six to seven months of paperwork, meaning the process could take several years.

While the co-op waits to hear a response on their application, they are discussing ideas for diversification. They already supplement the pickled vegetables and jellies with fresh produce at market but know that they can do more. In a meeting today between co-op members, Heifer Honduras and Heifer International staff, these women leaders had the opportunity to talk through ideas and brainstorm marketing concepts that will take their Pitillo jellies and pickles from small supplementary income to major contributor to the security and stability of their families’ livelihoods.

Right now, if you give to projects in Honduras and Guatemala, your donation could be matched dollar-for-dollar. Help other women just like those in Belen-Ocotepeque.

 

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Typhoon Bopha’s Aftermath

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The last time I posted here I was on my way to the Philippines to interview project participants who had lived through Typhoon Bopha. I told you that I’d be posting about my experiences. But we had no Internet, much less reliable electricity. Since I’ve been back I’ve thought a lot about my trip. It was one of the hardest trips I’ve taken. Below is a short reflection piece on my time there.

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I’ve seen real poverty before; heard the most heart-wrenching stories from war widows in Kosovo and survivors of the Khmer Rouge. I’ve witnessed the excitement that a gift of a goat brings and the incredible act of Passing on the Gift. But what I saw and heard in the Philippines was a level of devastation I’ve never encountered.

I was in Mindanao just six weeks after Typhoon Bopha tore through the island. As we made our way to the project sites it was as if we were inching our way closer and closer to a war zone. Palm fronds, bent permanently in the direction the winds were blowing, gave way to decimated villages.

Not only are the physical scars obvious—homes in pieces, partially rebuilt or gone completely; people living under tarps; men cutting away rotten portions of wood in an effort to save any materials from damaged houses; layers of silt and mud deposited in rice and corn fields; crops dead where they were planted, trees down—there are now psychological and emotional scars.

 

Ester Talledo talks about life after Typhoon Bopha.
Ester Talledo talks about life after Typhoon Bopha.

 

 I spoke to parents who say their children are afraid of the slightest winds, with mothers who have nothing to feed their families, and with fathers who are out of work because of factory closings or farm damage.

The typhoon ripped away hopes along with homes and livelihoods. All the Heifer beneficiaries here wanted was to provide their children with a life better than the one they had known. But with no food, no income and no job opportunities, it’s only a matter of time before kids will have to drop out of school.

What I learned in my 10 days there was the meaning of urgency. Typhoon Bopha was a minor blip on the Western world’s radar. But these people need help and they need it now. They have no food and won’t until the rice is harvested in the next few weeks.

In my five years with Heifer I’ve learned that each trip to the field leaves an indelible mark, and that each also comes with its own perils of the heart. I’ve been home from the Philippines for three weeks now, and though the images of crippled palms and makeshift homes are as clear as the day I was there, it’s the words of Ester Talledo that will remain with me forever: “While we’re alive there’s still hope. We will stay strong.”

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Heifer’s Disaster Rehabilitation Fund is reserved for to help Heifer participants who are victimes of events like Typhoon Bopha. Please give if you can. 

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Follow me to the Philippines

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Next Wednesday, January 23, I’ll be departing for the Philippines. Like we told you last month, I’ll be traveling there to report on the rebuilding efforts after the damage caused by Typhoon Bopha last month.

Photo By Nacho Hernandez

I’ll be going to to Sta. Josefa where at least 366 families in two projects were significantly affected, with homes damaged or destroyed. More than 250 pigs were lost, as well as 90 goats. Rice, corn and banana crops were significantly damaged, and initial estimates from Heifer communities place damages at $550,000.

I hope you’ll check back in on the blog periodically, as I intend (depending on connectivity) to blog while there about the families affected by the typhoon and also about Heifer’s Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction program, which helped our project participants prepare for the typhoon.

In the meantime, you can give to Heifer’s Disaster Rehabilitation Fund. While Heifer is not a first responder, as part of our program work, we help our at-risk communities prepare for the potential impact of disasters.  Even so, natural disasters often overwhelm a community’s ability to respond. Our Disaster Rehabilitation Fund is a pool of money that can be accessed by country offices affected by disasters that exceed their ability to cope.

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Ryan Bell Gives Gift of Transformation

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Ryan Bell

Ryan surpassed his $25,000 goal on December 14. He's currently at $27,705. Let's help him get to $30,000.

I have to admit, I was skeptical. When I wrote and blogged about the second of the two stories on Ryan Bell, I fully expected it to take much longer before he reached his goal of raising enough money for a $25,000 Gift of Transformation.

But this remarkable young man proved me wrong. Again. Ryan reached his goal lofty goal late last week, and his Team Heifer page continues to bring in money. I’m truly grateful to have been able to tell his story; to have gotten to know Ryan and his family.

But the best part of all of this? Ryan isn’t done. He’s not satisfied with reaching his goal years before he expected to. When I contacted Ryan’s mom, Laura, last week, she was going to text him at school to tell him the news. He was thrilled, she said. Their conversation went a little like this:

Laura: “It made his day!  So, that afternoon we looked up the new total and I said, ‘You know, at this rate you might be able to add a camel to your goal.’  You know my son by now… He said, ‘Mom, I think we should add an Ark!’”

Right now he’s more than half-way to reaching his NEW goal of adding $5,000 more to his remarkable total. If you want to help Ryan, you can go to his Team Heifer page and donate.

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Clinton: Value Women the Same as Men

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While her days as the U.S. Secretary of State are drawing to a close, Hillary Clinton used an opportunity last week to again call attention to the plight women around the world.

Clinton made similar remarks in an interview with World Ark magazine, which we published in our Holiday issue. Long a champion for women, Clinton acknowledged both in her speech last Thursday and in the interview with Heifer, that there are still great strides to be made before women and girls are seen as equals to men.

“As the mother of a daughter, and as someone who believes strongly in the right of every person, male and female, to have the opportunity to live up to his or her God-given potential,” Clinton said, “it pains me so greatly when I travel to places around the world and am received almost as an exception to the rule, where the male leaders meet with me because I am the secretary of state of the United States, overlooking the fact that I also happen to be a woman.”

“We are on the right side of history in this struggle, but there will be many sacrifices and losses until we finally reach a point where daughters are valued as sons, where girls as educated as boys, where women are encouraged and permitted to make their contributions to their families, to their societies just as the men are,” she said.

The speech followed Clinton’s acceptance of a humanitarian award given by Concern Worldwide, an anti-poverty organization.

Clinton’s interview also appears in the first World Ark tablet edition, as well, which you can download from the App Store on your iPad or from the Google Marketplace for your Android tablet.

 

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