Author Archives: Linda Meyers

About Linda Meyers

Linda Meyers, an Arkansas transplant originally from St. Louis, Mo., started working at Heifer International in 2011. She enjoys dragging her three children on nature hikes and snapping photos of them and everything around her. She has a bachelor’s degree in English has been “in the process” of writing the great American novel for 24 years.

Around the Web: A Visit from a Friend, Awards, Architecture, Chicken Coops

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Every week 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.

Patrick Rothfuss at Heifer Ranch

Photo courtesy of Heifer International

Fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss and his Worldbuilders team came to visit Heifer International headquarters in Little Rock and Heifer Ranch in Perryville. While here he talked to a reporter from the Arkansas Times, who wrote up this great story about the visit and about the Worldbuilders’ successful fundraising efforts.

Congrats to Broward County Public Schools Nova High School teacher Shawna Morgan, this year’s Florida Economic Educator of the Year. A human geography teacher, Morgan and her students supported various international causes including Heifer International.

John Savitski AIA, blogger for Traverse 360 Architecture happened up Heifer International headquarters and shares his photos and thoughts.

Coop d'Hill

Photo credit: Coop d’Hill

More than a dozen poultry raisers opened their coops to visitors on May 18, with donations received during the tours going to help end hunger through Heifer. What a great way to learn about raising chickens and Heifer International.

Congrats to Dr. Trevor Tomkins, who has been active with Heifer International as a board member and the Heifer Foundation. He was recently honored with the 2013 Distinguished Service Award for his life-long contributions to the feed industry by the American Feed Industry Association.

Vice President of Heifer’s Africa Program, Elizabeth Bintliff, talks with dowser about the East Africa Dairy Project, which recently received $8.5 million from the Gates Foundation.

The Rotary Youth hope to purchase an ark through Heifer International, which includes a pair of each animal, and have held many fundraisers this year to accomplish their goal, such as Rotaraking, helping with tours, and their latest event, electronics recycling.

Have you checked out When Cows Fly yet? It’s an online portal where Heifer donors, volunteers and participants from around the world can share their stories. Like this fiber artist, who is using her talents to benefit others. Or Sarah Sow, who donated a gift to Heifer in honor of her mother, as well as her good friend Polly Pig’s mother. (You are curious about their names, aren’t you? Click through and find out!) Heifer Sacramento shared info about a Fun Raiser fundraiser they are holding, and a California church’s Bike-a-Thon. You can share your story, too.

 

 

 

 

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Take Your Mind and Stomach to Nepal

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Nepal lunch

Lunch at the Gyawali household in Bhairavsthan village, Nepal. Photo by Russell Powell, courtesy of Heifer International.

You can find many different kinds of food in Nepal depending on the region, but Dal (lentil soup), Bhat (steamed rice) and Tarkari (curried vegetables) are popular everywhere, and is often accompanied by aachar (pickles). Curried meat is also popular, but meat is expensive so most save it for special occasions. As you head farther north, Tibetan influences become more obvious momos (steamed or fried dumplings stuffed with meat) are common. The further south you go, the more Indian influences you’ll notice. Interestingly, most Nepalese use no silverware, just their right hand to eat.

Take your mind and stomach to Nepal today with this simple Dal recipe.

Simple Dal Recipe

Recipe adapted from www.welcomenepal.com

Ingredients:
1 cup red lentils, picked over, rinsed and drained
3 cups water
1 large tomato, cut into 8 wedges (or 8 oz. diced canned tomato)
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 medium onion (yellow or red), finely chopped
5 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cups minced cilantro leaves (optional – you can also substitute parsley)

Baugha Gumba Village, Palpa District, Nepal

Lunch is prepared in Baugha Gumba Village, Nepal. Photo by Russell Powell, courtesy of Heifer International.

Directions:
Place lentils, tomato (if using fresh tomato) and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until lentils are tender and have lost their shape, about 40 minutes (begin checking that there is still water in the pot at 30 minutes and add small batches of water as needed).
Pick out any tomato skins and whisk dal to emulsify it. Keep warm over low heat.

Make the tadka (Indian spice preparation) as follows:

      Heat oil in a medium skillet over high heat.
      When oil begins to smoke, add cumin seeds.
      After seeds have stopped sputtering, add the garlic and onion and saute over medium heat until most of the onion has turned dark brown, 5-10 minutes.
      Add the coriander, turmeric and cayenne, stir, and pour the onion/spice mixture over the dal.

Add the butter, tomato (if using canned), cilantro/parsley, and salt to the dal and
simmer for another 5 minutes.
Serve hot.

Do you have an international recipe you love? Share it in the comments section below.

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Around the Web: Odds and Ends, Making a Difference, Teachers on a Roof

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Every week 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.

Brookhaven students

Photo credit: NeighborNewspapers.com

For months now, second-grade students at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School in Brookhaven, Georgia, have been doing various odds and ends, including holding lemonade sales and homemade baked cookie sales, babysat siblings, prepared lunches and cleared neighbors’ backyards. They easily surpassed last year’s total of $1,200, with $2,000.

Thanks to Nancy for her fundraising efforts on her blog, Realizing I Can Help…my journey of trying to make a difference. She’s on her way to reaching her goal.

Heifer international was mentioned as the best  in three separate categories in Little Rock’s Sync Weekly Who’s the Best of the Metro: Green Business, Local Cause and Non-Profit Organization.

Maguire House

Photo credit: TheMaguirehouseBB.blogspot.com/

What’s happening in and around Maguire House? 100 Things to Do and See Within 100 Miles, including Heifer’s Learning Center at Overlook Farm in Rutland, Massachusetts.

Another local publication, Little Rock Soiree, featured Heifer this week in 4 Fabulous Ideas To Put a Little Spring in Your Step which shines a spotlight on Feast in the Field,  a special dinner to be held May 18 to raise funds and awareness for sustainable agriculture benefiting Heifer projects in the Arkansas Delta and Nepal.

Longmont Suzuki Strings

Photo credit: Longmont Suzuki Strings

Kids from ages 2 to 11, students of Longmont Suzuki Strings in Colorado, performed at a concert to benefit Heifer International on May 11. The instructor, Erron Lacy, said, “I enjoy watching the students get excited about helping others. They do it with such a pure heart and love for children across the world they will never meet. Their dedication to the benefit concert, through careful practice, is so inspiring.”

Raising the Roof

Photo credit: The Gadsden Times

“Kindergartners and elementary students at Coosa Christian School ‘raised the roof’ so their teachers would have to sit on it.” These students were part of the Coosa Coin Challenge, donating spare change to different charities chosen by each grade. The third graders chose Heifer. They beat last year’s total, raising the roof, and their reward was sending teachers and faculty up to the roof for the day.

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For Mother’s Day, Celebrate the Strength of Mothers Everywhere

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This guest post was written by Cathy Sanders, Vice President of Philanthropy for Heifer International.

I feel very fortunate to be a mother. It is the best thing I’ve ever done. My children have made me experience love like I never expected. They are funny, smart, creative, loving and generous little boys. How many mothers around the world feel this way? I’m certain that I am only one of millions of women who live to make sure their children thrive. Even when my patience is at the very end, when they argue with each other or they sigh emphatically and roll their eyes at taking a shower I think how very lucky we are to be able to provide a home for them with plenty of food, access to education and health care and opportunities to build a good life for themselves.

Even in a trying U.S. economy, Americans can’t possibly relate to the realities that most people in the world struggle with every day. As mothers we are also charged with teaching our children how to become independent persons who are kind, generous, loving contributors and citizens of the world.

Mothers in Nepal

Photo by Cathy Sanders, courtesy of Heifer International

I had these thoughts in my head on a recent trip to see Heifer’s projects in Nepal. Nepal is a stunningly beautiful country with wise and wonderful people. Poverty there is also staggering. More than 30 percent of Nepalese live below the poverty line of $12 per person per month. Eighty percent of Nepal’s population live in rural areas and depend on subsistence farming. Life is a constant struggle for survival.

One of the most marginalized groups in Nepal is women. Heifer International’s work in Nepal is impressive and very successful. We focus on women’s empowerment and building community where none exists. You may have heard us talk about the 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development before. This training weaves itself through everything done in Nepal and makes the projects sustainable long after Heifer International leaves.

Mother in Nepal

Photo by Cathy Sanders, courtesy of Heifer International

I sat with a group of women in Belsi who were self-help group participants 10 years ago and listened as they told stories about the intense process of learning to work in community and to improve themselves−learning to read and write, learning to run a small business (goats), learning to trust. This work is so complex that it boggles my mind how Heifer has been able to be the spark that brought these women to life.

Even more impressive are these incredible women! Imagine their day: preparing breakfast, taking care of the livestock, cleaning up after breakfast, working in the field or searching for food, preparing lunch, washing clothes, fetching water, taking care of the children and on and on but with none of the luxuries of running water or even access to water, gas cookstove, dishwasher, washing machine, etc. While responsible for all that labor they still had to ask permission from their husbands to participate in training from Heifer International for hours a week. This is an extraordinary amount of extra work. But they did it. They did it because they wanted a better life for their children. Just like us.

On Mother’s Day, we take time to be grateful for the sacrifices of our own mothers. This Mother’s Day let’s also take time to celebrate the sacrifice, strength, courage and wisdom of mothers in Nepal and everywhere where survival is a daily struggle.

This Mother's Day. Gift Different. Give Heifer. Photo courtesy of Heifer International

Photo courtesy of Heifer International

This Mother’s Day Gift Different. Give Heifer.

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Around the Web: Shopping Local, a Harsh Reality, Read to Feed

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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.

Gardening

Photo credit: DNRonline

Wayland Elementary School in Virginia is a very environmentally conscious school, inspired to act by a flood in the local park that destroyed many habitats. In addition to local environmental activities such as recycling, Earth Day gardening and picking up trash, and building a buffer at the park to prevent erosion, the school participates in Heifer’s Read to Feed program, raising $3,500 for projects around the world.

Sam Hedges

Photo credit: Lily Darragh, inarkansas.com

26-year-old Sam Hedges, who once worked at Heifer’s Learning Center at Overlook Farm in Massachusetts and is now the director of the nonprofit Arkansas Local Food Network, talks about the network and shopping local.

Check out these two stories submitted to When Cows Fly: These godparents had the unique (and generous) idea of buying their godson a part of a water buffalo every year on his birthday, starting this year, the year of his birth! And the Joyful Noise Gospel Choir prepares for a musical presentation that will benefit Heifer.

St. Andrew's at Heifer Ranch

Photo credit: Amarillo Globe-News

Seventh graders from St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, Amarillo, Texas, got a glimpse of the harsh reality people around the world face every day during their annual service trip to Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas. One student Milah Someham, said, “I didn’t realize how many people lived like that until now. I kept worrying all night about what I was going to eat for dinner the next day.”

Thanks to Viva La Feminista for featuring our Mother’s Day offerings on their post, Feminist Mother’s Day Gift Guide.

Students at Morgan Twp. elementary school in Indiana have been taking part in the Read to Feed program. And, by the end of this month, school officials say they will have donated an amazing total of $12,000 to Heifer.

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Pass on the Gift of Health and Hope This Mother’s Day

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If you want to honor your mother with a very special gift this Mother’s Day, consider the gifts that Heifer has to offer. When you give a gift like this, you’re giving something big−something that will touch your mother’s heart and truly make a difference in the lives of others.

What kind of difference? Education. Nutrition. Clean Water. Empowerment.

Gulu Women Dairy Farmers

Christine Akello, 47 years old, with some of the children she cares for in Peya village, Uganda. Photo by Russell Powell, courtesy of Heifer International.

Take a look at the Infographic below, which lays out a few facts and solutions your Mother’s Day gifts through Heifer could bring.

Women in Sub-Saharan Africa spend about 40 billion hours per year collecting and transporting water. The gift of clean water, irrigation systems, and conservation training can lighten the load and free these mothers to spend more time on other things, like spending time with their children and becoming involved in income-generating activities.

Girls, who suffer most from gender discrimination, are the ones denied the opportunity for education when resources are limited. And children born to educated women are less likely to be stunted or malnourished, so if these girls don’t go to school and become more educated women, the cycle continues. Your Mother’s Day gift provides livestock and training to families to earn more income and pay for all of their children’s school costs, including the girls, breaking the cycle.

Mother's Day Infographic

When you give a gift through Heifer International this Mother’s Day, you’re helping a mother  provide better nutrition to her family and education to her children. And it doesn’t end there. The economic success spreads throughout communities, children have more opportunities to thrive and prosper, and women become empowered to work and become self-sufficient.

It’s not just a present, it’s a gift for a better tomorrow.

 

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Around the Web: A Visit to a Global Village, Earth Day Festival and an International Clubs Festival

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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.

Global Village

Photo credit: Liesl Den, Parents.com

An awesome post by Liesl Den on www.parents.com with even-more-awesome photos of a trip to a Heifer Global Village at Shepherd’s Spring in Maryland. Read about the family’s adventures through the Global Village, including Mozambique, a refugee camp, Thailand, Kenya, Appalachia, and Guatemala. You can also read her post about her kids’ service project, selling their own paintings to benefit Heifer.

Earth Day 2013

Photo credit: Jen and Jon Plus Kate

Jennifer and her family, from the blog Jen and Jon Plus Kate, attended the Earth Day festivities held on the grounds of Heifer International in Little Rock, Arkansas, and tells all about it (with a few pics, as well).

Mehlville International Clubs Festival

Photo credit: Mehlville-Oakville Patch

Organizers of the Mehlville School District’s International Clubs Festival, a cultural diversity celebration that included international music, dance, foods and crafts, was a huge success with about 1,000 people attending. Festival coordinator Christina Carlisle Mendoza said, “The main thing is that we are learning about new cultures. That’s the whole point. The world is getting smaller as we go on, so the more we know about people the better it is.” Proceeds from the event, which was held in St. Louis, Missouri, are being donated to Heifer International.

 

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Help End Hunger and Poverty for Cody Belew’s Birthday

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Get Cody’s Goat with a Birthday Donation to Heifer International

Cody Belew

Photo courtesy of Heifer International

When it comes to birthdays, people wish for all kinds of things—ponies, clothes, cars, gift cards. Singer Cody Belew’s birthday wish, though, is a little more audacious—helping families live a life of self-reliance and prosperity.

How? By ending hunger, one gift at a time! Belew, whose birthday is Monday, April 29, is asking fans, current and future, to forgo the traditional gift and buy him instead some chicks, some ducks, trees, a goat or even a cow through partner organization Heifer International.

“I’m a lucky person,” says Belew. “I am getting to live my dream, from being a finalist on NBC-TV’s ‘The Voice,’ to having the chance to entertain and sing to larger and larger audiences.

“Now I want to help others live their dreams—better nutrition, more and better foods and, ultimately, full stomachs,” he says.

Belew, whose single “Say Love” is the anthem of his support of Heifer and its work in more than 40 countries worldwide (download it on iTunes and a portion of the proceeds go to Heifer), is asking his fans to join his team, Team Cody, on the www.heifer.org website. There (www.heifer.org/teamcody), you can purchase animals or make a donation to honor him for his birthday.

“We’re all in this together, and we all love birthdays,” says Belew. “Help me celebrate mine by giving a hungry and struggling family a reason to celebrate, too. ‘Say Love’ with a gift that is meaningful and will make years’ worth of difference.”

Cody Belew Birthday

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Heifer China Staff Safe Following Weekend Earthquake

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Heifer International has learned that Heifer China’s staff is safe following a weekend earthquake that struck the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan. The Chinese government is reporting that nearly 200 were killed and more than 12,000 injured in Saturday morning’s 7.0 magnitude quake.

Currently, Heifer has no projects in Yu’an City, the epicenter of the earthquake, but in years past the organization provided goats and worked in a dairy program with area smallholder farm families there.

Heifer is working on earthquake rehabilitation projects nearby in the area impacted by the May 12, 2008, Wenchuan Earthquake, but due to limited access and communications, Heifer China staff has received no reports of injuries to people or animals, or structural damage.

Once government and other emergency workers have cleared the first response phase, Heifer China plans to conduct an agricultural and livestock loss survey in the affected areas with an eye toward possibly providing livelihood rehabilitation and community strengthening in the future.

Information will be updated as it becomes available.

China

China

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Heifer International Seeking Info About Staff, Families Following Serious Earthquake in China

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Heifer International continues to pursue information about the safety and condition of Heifer China staff, volunteers and project families in the wake of the strong earthquake that struck the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan over the weekend. The 7.0-magnitude quake struck near Ya’an City, population 1.5 million, early Saturday and the government is reporting nearly 200 people killed and more than 8,000 injured.

Heifer International has worked in China since 1946, but the modern program began in 1984.  Ya’an City is one of Heifer China’s three earliest project cities, which included the Ya’an Dairy Goat Project, where Heifer donated dairy goats to improve bloodstock. Heifer animals in the quake zone are mostly goats, pigs and rabbits—small animals because the people have small farms without the ability to support large ruminants.

A number of Heifer China staff was participating in a meeting in Cambodia with their Heifer Asia and South Pacific Area colleagues when the earthquake struck, so all are reported to be safe. Efforts continue to try to reach and to determine the impact on remaining staff, volunteers and project families in the area affected by the earthquake.

Thousands of emergency workers, including soldiers, rushed to reach the affected zones in the hilly region, but progress has been impeded because huge mountain chunks have sheared off and fallen into valleys, blocking roads and making emergency work difficult. Water and power lines have also been cut, making concise communications with the most affected areas difficult.

Residents of communities as far away as 190 miles reported feeling the quake, which struck an area that is mountainous and where architecture is mainly of stone or brick, so earthquakes can be especially devastating.

Saturday’s earthquake is also very close to the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake Area, where Heifer China has been implementing a rehabilitation project since 2008/2009, so it’s likely that many families there were affected in some way by the most recent temblor. More than 87,000 people were killed in that disaster.

Heifer International is working closely with colleagues at Heifer China to determine the whereabouts and safety of staff, volunteer and families, and exploring how the organization might help provide long-term rehabilitative and restorative support to families and others once the emergency response period has passed and the situation is more stable.

China

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