Photo courtesy of Heifer International
Fans of Heifer International and Cody Belew gathered in Little Rock, Ark., on Saturday, March 30, 2013, to “Say Love.”
Have you seen the music video yet?
Visit Cody’s Team Heifer page and join his #SAYLOVE team.
Download #SAYLOVE from iTunes. Proceeds from the new single will benefit Heifer International.
Thanks to everyone who participated in Saturday’s shoot. Watch this bonus video of your performance and #SAYLOVE with your family and friends.
This weekly post shines a light on a handful of stories from Heifer.org’s “From the Field”
section.
Heifer International is in the business of ending hunger and poverty and caring for the Earth. The dreams that come true for so many families as a result of this work are a pleasant and quite natural byproduct. The dreams of our project participants, considered modest by many, include things like running water, sending children to school, having decent shelter and enough to eat. Opportunities provided by Heifer combine with determination of families around the world to make modest dreams come true every day.
Jennifer Moyo with her chickens in Zimbabwe
Jennifer Moyo raises chickens in the Makhulela ward of Zimbabwe, a business she got into when she joined Heifer’s Hope for the San People project. She works hard to improve her livestock’s housing and helps her neighbors with their livestock, thanks to her training as a Community Animal Health Worker. The money Jennifer earns with her small farm allows her to buy basic necessities for her family and send her children to school.
For farmers in China’s mountainous Mingle village, running water is a challenge. The local government attempted to assist with a large irrigation project, but all improvements were ruined when a landslide collapsed the diversion canal a year after construction. Fortunately the China Merchants Charitable Foundation, a Heifer partner, stepped in and replaced the canal with a steel pipe. Now, the lofty village enjoys proper irrigation, giving the farmers water, a luxury many take for granted.
Hasmik Papyan’s family has been living in a small wagon-house since an earthquake devastated their Armenian community of Stepanavan in 1988. When Hasmik received Olya, a pregnant cow from Heifer Armenia, the future started looking bright. Olya gives the family two to three gallons of milk a day, which goes a long way to support the family’s nutritional and financial needs.
Ryan and his cousin count money from a fundraiser.
Twelve-year-old Ryan Bell from Wallingford, Conn., knows a thing or two about transformation. Because of Treacher Collins Syndrome, a cranio-facial disorder that affects the bone and soft tissue formation of the face, he has endured 37 surgeries, the latest of which was to remove a tracheotomy, which had helped him breathe. Ryan’s ongoing physical transformation, combined with his love for animals and desire to help others, which he shares with his sister Meghan, inspired the siblings to work hard to raise $25,000, also known as a “Gift of Transformation,” for Heifer International. Ryan and Meghan surpassed their goal and have no plans of stopping. Next stop: $50,000.
Help Ryan and Meghan make it to $50,000.
Watch Ryan tell his story:
When the La Prosperidad cooperative Passed on the Gift of guinea pigs in Peru’s Chirinos District, 520 families gathered to be a part of the special day. The ceremony featured music, dancing and happy families who were excited to share gifts of food and income security. Watch now:
This weekly post shines a light on a handful of stories from Heifer.org’s “From the Field” section.
To determine how to get where we want to go, it helps to know where we’ve been. With this in mind, the Philippines government adopted the Community Based Monitoring System (CBMS) in 2000. This tool promotes evidence-based policy formulation that targets many Filipinos who are living below the poverty line. In addition, it helps the country achieve its Milennium Development Goals (MDG). Heifer Philippines staff recently attended the CBMS-Philippines National Conference to learn what direction the national and local governments are headed on the issue of poverty and how we can work together to empower residents to achieve food and income security.
Nazar with his pig Mashok
Nazar is a teenage boy from Hushakert, Armenia. He has always thought about ways to make money, so when he joined a YES! Youth Club, he decided that the time was right to start his own business. After his business plan was approved by Heifer Armenia, Nazar received a financial grant to start raising pigs. His first activities have been so successful that he is making plans to expand his business.
When her husband sustained paralysis in half his body after an argument over land, Chandrarekha Paswan became open to ways to support her family. An opportunity came through Heifer India with Mithila Women Empowerment and Sustainable Livestock Program. Seeing something special in her, Chandrarekha’s fellow group members asked her to be the group’s Certified Animal Health Worker (CAHW). With hesitation, she accepted their request and soon discovered her knack for working with animals. Through Chandrarekha’s contributions, life is better for her family and her whole community.
Editor’s note: The story and photos below were submitted by Nou Samnang, a program officer for Heifer Cambodia.
Son Sinath holds her Golden Talent Award certificate.
Son Sinath and her family received the 2012 Golden Talent Award in Cambodia in a ceremony on December 28, 2012, in Dak Sorsor village, O’Mal commune, Battambang city, Battambang province. The joyful event was attended by self-help group (SHG) members, the commune chief, the village chief, project management committee members, Heifer Cambodia staff, Akphiwat Strey (AS) representatives, and the Agricultural Development Cooperative (ADC) advisory board. Through Heifer’s Women Empowerment and Holistic Community Development project, Sinath’s family received ducks, seeds and fruit trees to develop their homestead garden. They have used the knowledge, skills and experiences from Heifer’s trainings to propel them forward, transforming their gifts into sustainable sources of income. Heifer International Foundation provided the $1,000 cash award, $200 of which was given to Sinath. The remaining $800 went to the SHG for a community benefit project.
“Our community has reached great achievements over the past three years, after joining the Heifer project, working together to reach our goal and improve our families’ standard of living,” said Lai Savorn, a community facilitator for the project and ADC leader. “Our community members are very proud of receiving the GTA in the name of Sinath, who is also a part of the ADC. The award is an impetus for our community to work harder to develop our community resources. We will use this award to expand businesses in our cooperative.”
Courtesy of Heifer International
“This great award is an honor, not only for Sinath, but also for AS, the whole community and the local authorities of all levels who sacrifice for and support the Heifer-funded project implementation to be successful,” said Thaong Thavrin, executive director of AS, to ceremony participants. “I would like to express my deep thanks to Heifer for its partnership and support.”
Chhem Ty, the community chief, gave a speech at the award ceremony. He said he was very inspired by the development, harmony and solidarity that the people in his community have achieved with assistance from Heifer in partnership with AS. Chhem Ty said that the ceremony was a testimony of the endeavors of the SHG members and women’s empowerment, as well as the strong collaboration between local authorities and civil society organizations. He encouraged community members to work harder to receive even more successes.
“My family is very happy to receive the award that we had never dreamed before,” said Sinath. “We always regard Heifer and the AS as our second parents. They help us to help ourselves through providing both material and mental support. My family will use this award to enhance our swine production and dry-season rice to get more income.”
Son Sinath accepts her award.
In July 2009, Sinath’s family joined the Heifer-funded Women Empowerment and Holistic Community Development project. They received 10 ducks (nine female and one male), and a month later they were given seeds (string beans, morning glory, and eggplant) and fruit trees (mango and grapefruit). In June 2011, Sinath sold some of her ducks and chickens to buy two pregnant sows. One of her sows is still pregnant, and the other has produced 10 piglets. She found the animal management training helpful, especially in swine production, as she expanded her farm. In November and December of 2012 she earned 3,750,000 Riels, or about $940, from selling pigs and 200,000 Riels, or about $50, from selling poultry.
Sinath has completed her Passing on the Gift® (POG) obligation. In addition to animals and resources, she passed on valuable training, care and love to families in need. Beyond the POG, Sinath donated vegetable seeds and 10 chickens to her neighbors and contributed to a fund to help build a road and school in her village. “I think POG was the best activity in my life,” she said. “I was so excited and happy to pass on (the gift) that I cried.”
This weekly post shines a light on a handful of stories from Heifer.org’s “From the Field”
section.
When we are open to new opportunities, our future is often positively affected. Heifer International project families experience this all the time. Embracing the new and trying something different, regardless of what one’s history or neighbors say, has made a profound difference in the lives of many.
Heifer Armenia and Ashtarak Kat CJSC, the country’s leading milk producer, are working together to help families improve the breed of their animals and build successful dairy businesses through the Milk for Communities project. Valuable training and equipment for artificial insemination (AI) will enable families to make the most of their milk cooling unit. Soon these families will pass on the gift to new families, and an even greater impact will be made on hunger and poverty in Armenia.
Sulekha Devi, a CAHW in Bihar, India, with her goat
Coffee is the main economic activity for the residents of Cajamarca, Peru, but the crop is always vulnerable to an unpredictable climate and market fluctuations. When farmers here added guinea pigs and other inputs to their farming mix through Heifer’s Healthy Life and Sustainable Production for Coffee Producer Families in Lambayeque and Cajamarca project, they discovered that it pays to diversify. Now, with multiple crops, these families enjoy greater food and income security.
Sulekha Devi is a member of the Musahar community in Bihar, India. The Musahar are a Hindu scheduled caste, making them one of the country’s most vulnerable groups of people. They have no land of their own and must work as sharecroppers or agricultural laborers to support their families. Since Heifer India started the Mithila Women Empowerment and Sustainable Livestock Program, women like Sulekha are being trained as Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs). Sulekha has become an expert in diagnosing and treating animal conditions and has become a tremendous asset in her community.
Find out how you can give a new opportunity to a family today.
Photo by Dave Anderson, Courtesy of Heifer International
Alpaca breeders gathered to show their livestock and sell their woolen goods at the first-ever Paqocha Raymi Alpaca Festival in October 2012. Two breeders involved in Heifer’s Alpaca Biodiversity in High Andean Communities project won awards for the high caliber of their animals. One of the awards was fourth place in an international alpaca contest. The recovery of the colored alpaca is one of the project’s components, and participants are working to improve and reestablish the value and breeding of colored alpacas.
Heifer project members are all smiles during a group discussion.
Many women in Cambodia cannot read or write. Their illiteracy is rooted in the belief of many Cambodians that women should not be educated because they will become housewives and not be involved in decision-making inside or outside the home. Heifer Cambodia is working to empower women through literacy and group-savings community programs. Heifer Cambodia Country Director Keang Keo shares how Heifer is transforming lives in her country.
People in India have flocked to cities in search of better, higher paying jobs. This urbanization has led to the breakdown of the traditional practice of living with extended family. The nuclear-family-household trend has held unforeseen consequences for the country’s elderly. They are often left uncared for and have difficulty caring for themselves, especially when they fall ill. Heifer India Country Director Avni Malhotra shares how Heifer recipients are working to care for elderly residents in need in their communities.
Photo by Brigette Lacombe, courtesy of Heifer International.
