Author Archives: Chelsey McNiel

Massage T-shirt Helps Dad Relax

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Every week we feature a fun and/or educational activity you can try at home or in the classroom. Dads work hard to care for their families. But sometimes they need a helping hand - a simple act of kindness or pat on the back. You can help your dad relax on his big day with this fun craft.

Make a Father’s Day Massage T-shirt.

Photo credit: thebluebasket.blogspot.com

Photo credit: thebluebasket.blogspot.com

What You Need:

  • White T-shirt
  • Printable Road Map (scroll down on site)
  • Clear Tape
  • Fabric Paint or Markers
  • Toy Cars

Follow These Steps:

  1. Print out the road map.
  2. Tape the four pieces of paper together.
  3. Slide the paper map between the front and back of the T-shirt.
  4. Trace the map onto the T-shirt using fabric paint or markers.
  5. Let dry.
  6. Present to Dad!
  7. Kids give massage as they play with the toy cars on the T-shirt.
Photo courtesy of Heifer International

Photo courtesy of Heifer International

Heifer International creates lasting change for fathers and their families. Your dad deserves a gift with purpose.

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Diversified Farming Grows Income and Nutrition

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Osvaldo Clavo transformed his family’s farm from a single-crop coffee farm to one teeming with biodiversity with gifts of livestock and training from Heifer International Peru.

You can support more farmers in Peru with a donation to Heifer.

In Cajarmarca, Peru, where Osvaldo and his family live, relying on one crop for income is a common and risky way of life. In the case of coffee, insects and coffee rust can quickly ruin crops. After receiving training from Heifer International, Osvaldo began raising guinea pigs, honeybees and a garden. With diversified farming, he achieved year-round food security, created multiple sources of income and provided additional nutrition for his family.

Diversified Farming - Peru

Anastacio Manayay Calderón, 23, and his wife Nicolasa Reyes Vilcabana, 23, participate in a tree planting project in the Village of Cueva Blanca, Peru. Anastacio said “We used to grow our plants with chemical fertilizers, but we couldn’t keep them for very long because they would rot. Now with organic fertilizer the vegetables last longer and taste better.” Photo by Jake Lyell, courtesy of Heifer International

If you are inspired by this story and video, please donate to our Heifer Peru project so we can help more stories like this become reality.

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From the Field: Investing in Youth

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This weekly post shines a light on a handful of stories from Heifer.org’s “From the Field”From the Field section.

The children of Heifer Vietnam project participants enjoyed a day of fun and learning on International Children’s Day. Youth under 15 years old received milk and cookies, notebooks and certificates of appreciation if they earned good academic records during the school year. The celebration helped inspire parents to continue working hard as they watched their kids laughing and singing together. Huyen Tran, 5, said her new notebook will help her study hard so she can make her parents happy and proud.

International Children's Day

Children of Heifer Vietnam beneficiaries celebrated International Children’s Day with games, cookies and soccer. Photo courtesy of Heifer Vietnam staff.

Last year, 12-year-old Aramayis Avalyan began investing in a sheep farm with a YES! Youth Club grant from Heifer Armenia. His mom prepares cheese from the ewe’s (a mature female sheep) milk and sells it to generate income. Aramayis said he couldn’t describe how happy he was when his ewe gave birth to its first lamb. “Every morning when the sheep goes to the pasture I take the lamb to the nearest field to graze,” he said. ”I release it there and it starts to frolic with joy and play with me.” Aramayis has already Passed on the Gift® to another club member.

Over the last four years, Purdue University’s Department of Animal Sciences developed a week-long training in partnership with Heifer Romania. Students lived and worked with farm families as they performed daily duties like milking cows, collecting fodder and treating animals. Heifer Romania incorporated its work and asked the youth to develop an action plan to help farmers capitalize on dairy products. This relationship has also contributed to building and renovating animal housing and livestock welfare environments in Romania.

Invest in the youth of the world.

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‘Go Fishing’ for Marine Reserves

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Every week we feature a fun and/or educational activity you can try at home or in the classroom. How we treat the Earth affects the oceans. Part of Heifer International’s mission is to improve the environment, which helps end hunger and poverty through increased resources. On June 8, celebrate World Oceans Day and discover how you can protect the wealth our oceans provide.

Greenpeace divers at a marine reserve near the Philippines. Photo credit: flickr.com Greenpeace USA

Greenpeace divers at a marine reserve near the Philippines. Photo credit: flickr.com Greenpeace USA

The sea acts as a life support system for Earth. It covers 72 percent of the planet and supplies half its oxygen. Marine reserves protect sea life, create jobs through tourism and help stabilize the fishing industry. Sadly, less than two percent of our oceans are protected this way, according to Enric Sala, a marine ecologist for National Geographic.

Help kids learn about ocean conservation with this fun fishing activity:

What You Need:

  • Large Cardboard Box
  • Construction Paper
  • 1-3 fishing poles
  • Fishing line
  • Clothespins
  • Random trash, like plastic bottles or a flip-flop
  • Candy or other small reward
  • Ocean Pollution and Marine Animal Facts (Find all kinds of facts on this website)
  • An adult volunteer

Follow These Steps:

  1. Unfold the large cardboard box and using the construction paper, decorate it like the beach or bottom of the ocean.
  2. Use fishing line to attach clothespins to the fishing poles as hooks.
  3. Cut out marine animals using the construction paper and write fun questions and/or riddles about the sea life on the cut-outs.
  4. Collect a small amount of random trash like plastic bottles, a flip-flop or baby diaper. Write ocean pollution facts on the trash.
  5. Place a volunteer behind the cardboard box with the sea life cut-outs and random trash.
  6. Divide the children up into teams.
  7. Have each team member take turns ”going fishing” over the top of the box. The volunteer will attach either a sea life cut-out or piece of trash to the clothes pin, then gently pull on the line to let the child know they have caught something.
  8. If the child catches a sea life cut-out, they can enlist the help of their teammates to answer the question or solve the riddle. Award points for correct answers.
  9. If the child catches trash, they read the pollution fact on the item and do not receive points.
  10. At the end of the game, tally points and award a prize like candy to the winning team.
  11. Don’t forget to recycle the random trash you collected!

Help others learn to care for the Earth

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Hoophouses Cultivate Seeds of Change

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A Seeds of Change farmer sells her produce at a local market. Photo courtesy of Heifer International

A Seeds of Change farmer sells her produce at a local market. Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

Heifer International’s Seeds of Change project aims to boost nutrition and create jobs for people in the Appalachia and Arkansas Delta regions, which are home to America’s most impoverished communities.

Seeds of Change communities are building hoophouses, or seasonal high tunnels, to improve agricultural practices and the environment.

These innovative structures help farmers produce fruits and vegetables year-round, enabling farmers to practice sustainable agriculture.

Senchel Matthews, social entrepreneur for the Delta region, shares how hoophouses are helping farmers and increasing their quality of life.

You can plant Seeds of Change

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From the Field: Passing on Perseverance

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This weekly post shines a light on a handful of stories from Heifer.org’s “From the Field”From the Field section. Families who receive livestock from Heifer International also gain education and learn new skills, which teach them how to thrive after our support ends. When they Pass on the Gift®, they enable others to regain the dignity of providing for their family and the hope of developing stronger communities.

Neang Chhoeun, a 53-year-old farmer and self-help group (SHG) leader, lost his right leg in Cambodia’s civil war. Despite his disability, Chhoeun was determined to impact his neighbors by restoring a road in their community. “I find that Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones [for Just and Sustainable Development] work very well for my life,” Chhoeun said. “I apply them personally and I have improved incomes for my family and I have passed on the gifts to my neighbors to help them alleviate their poverty.” Heifer Cambodia helps amputees like Chhoeun with the challenges of living with physical disabilities.

Neang Chhoeun brought his community together to restore a dirt road, which will make travelling to their homes and market much easier. Photo by Nou Samnang, North-West Region Program Officer, Heifer Cambodia

Neang Chhoeun brought his community together to restore a dirt road, which will make traveling to their homes and market much easier. Photo by Nou Samnang, North-West Region Program Officer, Heifer Cambodia

Bilkis Begum’s family did not believe she could contribute anything of value, but through perseverance, she raised the family’s standard of living and changed their minds. With support from her women’s SHG in Teyarirchar village, Bangladesh, she received a young bull, education and gender equity training. These experiences helped Begum expand her family’s assets, improve their income and contribute to her community. She also successfully proposed that a preschool for poor families be established in her village.

Since 2010, the gift of sheep has given hope to 45 families in Lernantski village, Armenia. One resident said unexpected weather conditions make horticulture less and less reliable, but Heifer’s assistance is improving the lives of these diligent families. Grandpa Hovehannes of the Ohanyan family said, “Heifer’s assistance to us and to our community is indeed invaluable. The whole village is the witness of it.” The community continues to persevere despite harsh conditions and pass on gifts to other families in need.

Learn how you can help families persevere

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Love Your Leftovers

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Every week we feature a fun and/or educational activity you can try at home or in the classroom. World Environment Day 2013, which is June 5, focuses on reducing food waste and food loss. Every year 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted, while one in seven people in the world go hungry every day, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 

A smallholder dairy farmer, 35-year-old Oloka John, his wife and three children, use every resource to improve their livelihoods. Photo by Dan Bazira, Senior IT Communications Coordinator, Heifer Uganda

A smallholder dairy farmer, 35-year-old Oloka John, his wife and three children, use every resource to improve their garden’s production. Photo by Dan Bazira, Senior IT Communications Coordinator, Heifer Uganda

Heifer International provides families around the globe with opportunities to boost their nutrition and live sustainable lives. Many families, like Ugandan dairy farmer Oloko John’s family, creatively use every resource available. They spread cow dung on their gardens and use an energy-saving stove.

World Environment Day’s theme, “Think. Eat. Save. Reduce Your Footprint” encourages the world to eat smart instead of wasting still edible food. There are a few ways to reduce your footprint and love your leftovers.

  1. Use your Freezer
    Freezing food will keep leftovers fresh until you have the taste for them again, or can use them in another recipe. Don’t forget you can do this with take-out or restaurant leftovers too.
  2. Begin Composting
    Food, although a benign substance, needs light and air to properly compost. Food is buried in landfills, which produces environmentally harmful methane gas.
  3. Leftover Recipe Night
    One night a week, gather all your leftovers and have fun creating new recipes. Get your kids involved in the process and hold a contest for best recipe. Cleaning your fridge will also save you time and money.

You can help families live healthier lives.

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The Most Enthusiastic President

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Elizabeth Villanueva Diaz was named president of her handicraft assocation becaue of her enthusiasm for moving forward. Photo courtesy of Heifer Peru

Photo courtesy of Heifer Peru

Elizabeth Villanueva Diaz joined with other mothers in the high Andes of Peru to start a handicraft association. She was named president because of her enthusiasm for education and building a better life for herself and her son.

The women raise alpacas and llamas and sell the textiles they make from the animal’s wool. Heifer Peru supports the group through training, which helps the women gain skills and knowledge.

Elizabeth says what she learns must be shared with her fellow workers and young girls too. By teaching young women to knit, she spreads strength and teaches them to never give up on their goals.

You can help build a sustainable life for women in Peru 

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From the Field: Reaching Their Goals

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This weekly post shines a light on a handful of stories from Heifer.org’s “From the Field”From the Field section. Heifer International’s mission is to end hunger and poverty and care for the Earth. Many families worldwide have been part of that vision and have reached the goal of lifting themselves out of poverty.

The Rural Entrepreneurs for Agricultural Cooperation (REACH) project in Haiti recently surpassed their goal to train 60 Community Animal Health Workers this year. “Harry Charles (a Heifer International veterinary specialist) and I are very satisfied with this achievement,” said Hervil Cherubin, Heifer Haiti’s country director. “We have much more demand [for the training] than we can keep up with.” Participants said the training is valuable and necessary for success in the rural areas of Haiti.

Haiti CAHW Training

A woman participates in Heifer Haiti’s Community Animal Health Worker (CAHW) training. Photo courtesy of Heifer Haiti

Oloka John and his family live in Uganda. Before participating in Heifer Uganda, the family of five referred to their livelihood as a “life of lack.” Now, the family operates a retail shop and banana plantation and plans to expand their work. As their lives have transformed, they are Passing on the Gift® to their neighbors.

In Brazil, women’s groups are working together to reach their goals. This dedicated network shares resources and knowledge to build sustainability in their communities. Their dedication has not gone unnoticed as they raise sheep, make dolls and teach their children. The Daughters of the Land in the Canoa de Dentro Community were recognized for their project that produces organic pulps, jellies and jams for schools and needy families.

Help people reach their goals around the globe

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Memorial Day Shoebox Parade Illustrates U.S. History

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This weekend families nationwide will celebrate Memorial Day with camping trips, backyard barbeques and water recreation. The meaning of this important holiday can get lost in the thrill of a fun day off from school and work, but it’s important to remember our past and the people who helped us achieve a better life.

Heifer International began a humble mission when founder Dan West’s idea of “not a cup, but a cow,” began changing lives. Now, Heifer has helped over 65 million impoverished people with the gift of livestock and education. The Beglaryan family of Armenia left their home in Shikahogh village because of war with a neighboring country. With Heifer Armenia’s help, their home was restored from its postwar conditions and they returned to their village with hope for a peaceful and successful future.

Help children understand the importance of honoring those who gave us a brighter future by holding a Memorial Day Shoebox Parade.

A young student takes part in his schools shoebox parade. Photo credit: stockdale.k12.tx.us

A young student takes part in his school’s homecoming shoebox parade. Photo credit: stockdale.k12.tx.us

What you need:

  • Shoebox
  • Glue
  • Scissors
  • String or Yarn
  • Markers
  • Construction Paper
  • Plastic Wheels (optional)
  • U.S. History Timeline

Follow these steps:

  1. Customize a timeline of U.S wars and conflicts depending on what you want your students to learn about.
  2. Break students up into small groups, or have them work individually, and assign a war or conflict to each group or individual.
  3. Prepare descriptions of each timeline event, or give your students time to research.
  4. Tell students to use the shoebox to design mini parade floats depicting key elements of the group’s assigned war or conflict.
  5. When constructing the shoebox float, students should attach string to the front and a wheel system, in order to pull the float during the parade.
  6. Once students have researched and designed their float, line them up in historical order and have them give a short presentation on their assigned war or conflict as their turn comes around in the parade.

Help Heifer build peaceful livelihoods

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