Category Archives: Hunger

Heifer CEO in Nepal: First Steps into Sustainability

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On his first day in Nepal, Heifer International President and CEO Pierre Ferrari found himself among a group of withdrawn yet excited women in an unused classroom in the village of Kabilash in Chitwan district, a jostling 45-minute drive uphill on a dirt track that was patched up from recent landslides especially for his visit. The ethnic tribal women spoke of the challenges of and their aspirations for Heifer’s signature project, of which they were going to be a part. This was a first for Ferrari. Having traveled through Nepal in February 2011 and having heard about the country’s achievements in implementing transformational projects ever since he joined Heifer, Ferrari was more accustomed to strong women displaying confidence. “It validated the time and money we put into trainings to build the social capital to strengthen and transform women,” said Ferrari.

The women in Kabilash are part of a groundbreaking effort in Nepal that will scale up Heifer’s work to end poverty and hunger by increasing goat and milk production by helping women farmers increase production and enabling them to take part in the value chain through cooperatives formed and led by women. The overarching goal of the project, reducing importation of live goats and milk, will increase income for smallholder farmers through increased production and participation in the value chain, which will ensure that they get a fair share of the profits.

Heifer’s plan in this beautiful but resource-poor community is to establish sustainable partnerships with the local government, which is a co-funder of the project. “Our five-year plan consists of improving livestock and agriculture to help the people of this village escape poverty,” said Village Development Committee Secretary Pradhumna Khadka. “So when Heifer came to me with an opportunity to partner, I accepted it without any reservations.”

This is a partnership that works for all. Because after Heifer completes its work in Kabilash, it can be assured that the impacts will be exponential. “By this time, Heifer will have strengthened the farmers, the cooperative they form, and the agents of development, the government organizations, who are there to stay,” said Parbati Rawal, executive director of SRAM, a Heifer local partner NGO that will implement the project in Kabilash.

Heifer Nepal is geared up to implement similar projects in 28 districts of Nepal in the next five—an ambitious plan that has already been able to seek support in forms of resource leverage and collaborative partnerships from the national and local government and other development agencies.

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Poverty in the U.S.: The Stories You Don’t Hear

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The home page for Bus 52 where you can keep track of where the bus is going and view the videos of where they've been.

It’s easy to become mired in hunger and poverty statistics. As people the world over struggle with economic stagnation, and more and more people slip below the poverty line, it’s not often that stories of hope and happiness make the airwaves. So I was particularly struck by a story I saw on The Huffington Post last week which highlighted the work of Bus 52. 

Bus 52 is a documentary film project led by five young people who are traveling the United States on a converted school bus. Their aim is to tell the stories of people and/or organizations who are having a positive impact in their communities. While they don’t focus solely on what’s being done to combat hunger here at home, the article in the Huffington Post focused on that subject in particular. And I have to say, it was nice to hear some positives for a change.

Take the Generous Garden Project in South Carolina, for example. Local Bo Cable started an organic garden for the folks of Greenville after he saw a need in the area and after noticing that food banks had a dearth of fresh vegetables. “We just give it away,” Cable says in the Bus 52 video. “No questions asked.”

There are a number of other projects highlighted like the free cafe for the needy run by student volunteers at The University of Kansas, or the urban farming project run by Nat Turner in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. All admirable, and all reminiscent of how Heifer is working to help achieve food security and grow agricultural jobs through our Seeds of Change initiative.

So take a minute to remind yourself that there’s a need right here at home, and another to be inspired by all the things that are being done in communities just like yours.

Is there a happy story in your community that maybe we don’t know about? Tell us!

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From the Field: Heifer Brings Families Together

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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.

Gender and Family Focus is one of the key elements of Heifer International’s 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development. Communities worldwide are greatly impacted as families work together to achieve their goals. As men and women, sons and daughters, share responsibilities we are one step closer to eliminating hunger and poverty.

Norik with his calf. Photo by Knarine Ghazanchyan, Program Coordinator, Heifer Armenia

Norik with his calf. Photo by Knarine Ghazanchyan, Program Coordinator, Heifer Armenia

Norik Mkrtchyan, 14, lives with his parents and two brothers in Lukashin Village, Armenia. He helps take care of the family’s animals and works along side his father and brothers in their garden. Neighbors look to Norik’s father, Armen, for vegetable marketing advice, and his mother works preparing cheese. Norik received a cow from a Heifer-supported YES! Youth Club and plans to pass on its first calf to another club member.

Before joining a SHG in Cambodia, Loek Bunthoeun had to leave his wife and two children behind to work in Phnom Penh city. Most of his income had to sustain him as he migrated to the city for work. Now, Loek and his wife generate income with their family’s organic vegetable garden and are planning to expand their garden and begin raising pigs.

In Vietnam, Danh Hoang, 45, lives with his wife and four children. They are members of a self-help group (SHG) and plan to seize every opportunity to live a sustainable life. Danh’s two sons help their neighbors with the rice harvest while their mother weaves coconut leaves for roofing material. Danh received training through Heifer Vietnam and plans to pass on the gift to another family in need.

Learn how you can help bring families together.

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Heifer’s CEO to Tour Haiti Ag Sites with President Clinton

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Tomorrow (Friday) morning, Heifer President and CEO Pierre Ferrari will travel to Haiti to meet up with President Clinton and 19 other representatives of organizations and corporations investing in Haiti to tour exciting new projects in agriculture across the country.

Haitigoat

Photo by Geoff Oliver Bugbee

The Clinton Foundation states in its invitation that it has been working with the Government of Haiti and partners on the ground to help facilitate economic growth and job creation in a variety of priority sectors. The Haitian government has identified agriculture as key in these efforts as it holds strong potential for job creation, improved livelihoods, environmental recovery and food security.

“Revitalization of the agricultural sector is a critical component of the country’s long-term strategy for recovery,” the document says. “Development and the opportunities for growth and diversification are clear.”

The weekend trip is an opportunity to explore new opportunities to foster growth and investment and to also acknowledge efforts already in the works, such as Heifer International’s partnership with North Coast Development Corporation. The partners are launching a solar-powered drip irrigation project focusing on food production with the organization SELF, and will include one of Heifer’s goat breeding centers as part of the Clinton Global Initiative commitment REACH project to introduce better breeding stock, using sturdy Creole goats, into area communities. The project also includes an orchard of fruit and nut trees, sisal production and beekeeping and associated products.

The Clinton-led group will visit this project as part of the tour on Sunday, in United Nations helicopters.

Stay tuned for updates in the next week about the opportunities and relationships at work in this Clinton Foundation tour. Filmmaker Craig Renaud and World Ark writer Donna Stokes will be along for a few of the events and conversations to share details about this exciting opportunity for Heifer’s work in Haiti.

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Double Your Impact In Guatemala

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Double your impact on hunger now! Thanks to a generous benefactor and international partners, your donation to Heifer International will be matched dollar-for-dollar during March to support food security, better nutrition and women’s empowerment in Guatemala.

Double your impact for people like Virginia Jimenez Mateo, who knows firsthand how women living in rural areas can become isolated and marginalized. She lives in the remote village of Laguna Verde, Guatemala, with her husband Mauricio and their seven sons.

Virginia Jimenez Mateo, Guatemala

Photo by Russell Powell, courtesy of Heifer International

Before joining a Heifer project in 2007, Virginia seldom left her house since women do most of the farm labor and household chores. She rarely had the opportunity to get to know other women in her community apart from church activities. “The only time I left my house was to go to church and back,” she said.

Virginia primarily prepared beans, steamed broccoli or carrots for meals. They had to buy eggs from their neighbors and could only afford meat twice a month. She recalls that 14-year-old Mario had stomach problems.

Since joining the project, she has received training along with 10 chickens in 2007 and a goat in 2011. She especially likes Passing on the Gift®. “It would be hard for me to save enough money to repay a goat, but when mine (kid born on February 14, 2012) is big enough I can pass it on,” she said, having already passed on the gift of chickens in 2008.

Heifer’s training improved life in the community. Training provided opportunities for the local women to get to know each other. “No one can take away the knowledge we received,” she said. Thanks to the gender training, the men have started participating. With more help around the house, Virginia’s family started to thrive.

Edwin Gonzalez Jimenez, Guatemala

“Part of the training was teaching my children than they can do anything a woman can do,” Virginia said.
Photo by Russell Powell, courtesy of Heifer International

The biggest benefit for her family, Virginia said, was their improved diet and nutrition. They raise their own chickens, so they no longer have to buy eggs and can now afford to buy meat once a week. “Now we have more variety,” she said. She noticed that they aren’t as sick as before. She credits drinking goat’s milk for her improved health and less aches in her joints.

Better nutrition means her sons have more energy to focus on their school work. Miguel, age 19, and Carlos, age 16, received scholarships to attend a Catholic school. “The knowledge and ethics they are receiving are important,” she said.

This kind of impact happens every day in Heifer projects. Stretch your dollar this month and double your impact to help provide the training and livestock needed by families like Virginia’s to help put more food on the table.

To maximize this match, we need to raise at least $831,000 from generous supporters like you.

Click here to donate.

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Double Your Donation to End Malnutrition in Honduras and Guatemala

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Right now, the rate of malnutrition in Central America is staggering. In the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala, 60 percent of the population suffers from chronic or acute malnutrition. Six out of 10 children struggle with malnutrition in the Lempira region of Honduras. These communities face an infant mortality rate of 28 deaths for every 1,000 births. That’s almost five times worse than the United States. But, we can do something about it.

During the month of March, your gift to Heifer International can be matched dollar-for-dollar thanks to a generous benefactor and international partners, every dollar raised for three new projects in Honduras and Guatemala will be doubled. Stretch your dollar further and double your impact to help provide the training and livestock needed by families to help put more food on the table.

Cary Rubelse and Eduardo Najera Gonzalez, Guatemala

Cary Rubelse and Eduardo Najera Gonzalez can drink goat’s milk to increase their nutrition.
Photo by Russell Powell, courtesy of Heifer International

In Honduras, Heifer is working alongside communities in Lempira to improve health and nutritional food security by 2016. Training in areas like micro-enterprise initiatives, gender equity and sustainable farming practices will help improve production and full inclusion in the community. Farming and income diversification will be impacted by the placement of cows, goats, poultry and bees.

Heifer has started two projects in the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala to help families to produce more on their family farms through the use of stronger livestock, seeds and improved agroecology.

Gifts of livestock and training provide improved nutrition and additional family income along with the chance for vulnerable children to grow up healthy and strong. In addition, these kids will have the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty by attending school.

Elmer and Lisbe Gonzalez

Elmer and Lisbe Gonzalez now have the opportunity to attend school.
Photo by Russell Powell, courtesy of Heifer International.

In order to maximize this March match, we need to raise at least $831,000 by generous supporters like you. These projects cannot move forward without your help. Right now, any gift made to this project will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Click here to find out more or to donate.

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Pass on the Gift in Peru with Garnet Hill and Heifer

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Pass on the Gift in Peru

For nearly 30 years, Garnet Hill has worked with like-minded organizations to improve communities and better peoples’ lives. And for nearly 70 years, Heifer International has worked with communities around the world to end hunger and poverty and care for the Earth. It is this shared desire to strengthen communities, at home and abroad, that forged the partnership between the distinguished catalog merchandiser and the global humanitarian organization.

In 2009 Garnet Hill asked their customers’ opinion on what charitable initiative they would choose to support. The number one choice was the elimination of hunger, and Heifer became the natural choice. With their customers’ generous support, Garnet Hill has made significant contributions to Heifer’s work around the world.

Now, Garnet Hill has developed a promotion to send one lucky person and a guest to Peru to see Heifer’s work firsthand on the trip of a lifetime — while also making a difference in the lives of others. Work hand in hand with Heifer International to foster sustainable development in the ancient Incan Empire capital of Cuzco, and learn about the country’s colorful culture through exclusive guided tours.

Learn more about an amazing opportunity from Garnet Hill.

Note: The above link will take you to Garnet Hill’s website in a new window.

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The Face of Poverty in Rwanda

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Editor’s note: February 20 is the World Day of Social Justice. In honor of this day, we bring you a portrait of extreme poverty in Rwanda. 

His name is Frank. He’s 18 months old and near death. 

Poverty in Rwanda

Frank is one face of poverty in Rwanda. Photo by Bill Fitzgerald, courtesy of Heifer International.

Frank is severely malnourished, dehydrated, feverish and coughing. We discover later that the cough is most likely due to tonsillitis (a small relief, as pneumonia was first suspected). He lives in Bugusera District, Eastern Province of Rwanda. My co-worker Leigh Wood and I have met Frank and his parents on a trip to document the need for Heifer’s work in this beautiful, hopeful country. This is a slightly different trip for us: we are in areas of Rwanda where Heifer does not currently operate, but hopes to soon. We are here to capture images like Frank’s. And we realize that the few stories we will capture are but the tip of the iceberg.

There is no food in Frank’s house. In fact, there’s hardly anything at all in his house. It’s a mud-and-stick structure about as big as most Americans’ dining rooms. There’s a dirt floor, a low wooden bench and a straw mat for sleeping. The sun shines through the holes in the wall as lizards scamper along the framework. Rwanda is an incredibly green, lush place, and vegetables will grow where they are planted in Frank’s yard. But the land has been handed down and sub-divided to the point where the family’s only plot for growing is about as big as the tiny house itself. He has not eaten today. Yesterday? Maybe, maybe not. His father drinks what little money comes in, and his mother tends their few plants as well as she can.

Frank’s mom gets him the mile or so down the road to the Rango Health Station where he is examined. He receives some juice and antibiotics. When we return to his house to continue filming, the difference is amazing. He has perked up, is talking and even walking some, a tad unsteadily. The village children turn out in scores to watch the muzungus (white people) and their cameras. At one point, Leigh pulls away from us, and I see her wiping her eyes. At that moment, I realize that Frank is almost the exact same age as Leigh’s baby boy at home in the States. A lump forms in my throat as I watch Leigh regain her composure and proceed to gleefully entertain and distract the dozens of children. (She is amazing to watch in this occupation.) I think to myself “the lump in my throat will go away. I know this. The hunger Frank feels will not.”

I’m struck by how little it took to snatch Frank from death’s door. A little nutrition, some medication. And how little it would take to change this family… this village… this district… this country. That’s why Heifer is here. That’s why we’re here, Leigh and I, to give witness to this solvable problem. We have seen scores of families and villages like Frank’s. We talk to the parents, play ball with the kids, entertain them across a language barrier and ultimately realize they’re not that different from us.

Can we make a difference in poverty at this scale? After seeing what so little can do for such dire circumstances as Frank’s, I’m convinced we can. What slight discomfort we might feel allocating the resources to make a difference will go away. But unless we do, the hunger won’t.

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Your New Issue of World Ark is on the Way!

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WA-035_2013 February WA CoverHeifer’s East Africa Dairy Development project is changing the lives of 1 million people previously living in poverty. You’ve heard us talk about the importance of scaling up Heifer’s work to help more people in need, but how do we go about it?

In the February 2013 issue of World Ark, arriving in mailboxes this week, you’ll read about how we’re working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, partners and private providers including village banks, to connect small dairy farmers with each other—and with their local economies—to lift up entire communities.

You’ll also hear directly from young girls in India, who with Heifer’s help are beginning to realize their own strength and potential through education and training. Also learn what challenges India’s elderly are facing as young families migrate to cities for better jobs.

Bonus features include everything from tips on how to patiently teach compassion to children to a deep dive into the world of aquaculture, or fish farming, throughout the world.

You can also read the World Ark features online here, with extra stories and videos. Let us know what you think; we look forward to hearing from you!

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From the Field: Making Modest Dreams Come True

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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 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 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.

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Direct Sales and the Future of Local Food

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Editor’s note: The following is a guest post from an outgoing Heifer International intern, Lesley Waterson. If you are interested in becoming an intern with Heifer International, please contact interns@heifer.org.

Friday was the conclusion of my internship with Heifer International. Since April 2012, I have been working closely with Heifer’s USA Country Program. I received assignments on a wide range of topics, which included internal management of Heifer USA’s documentation, investigation of state legislation to support local food, and research on direct sales avenues for local farmers. Seeing the newly renamed USA Seeds of Change Enterprise (SOC) evolve throughout the course of my time at Heifer has provided valuable perspective, and I am truly grateful to have worked with a team of passionate and creative individuals.

Local Food

Lesley, right, and Heifer International staff member Senchel Matthews on a site visit in Hughes, Arkansas. Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

The shift in direction that SOC is taking will no doubt offer Heifer a plethora of new opportunities. With a strong entrepreneurial spirit, SOC will eventually lead to building relationships with food sector businesses and has the potential to play a larger role in how Americans get their food. But where does this process begin?

Poco a poco se anda lejos. English translation: “Little by little, one goes far.”

This is one of my favorite Spanish proverbs. To me, it means that success comes slowly and with deliberate steps. If we want to build a successful social enterprise for Heifer’s domestic farmers, we need to start small, create a strong cooperative model, and move toward expanding the market from there. One of the ways to start small is to establish a handful of direct markets. Direct markets (i.e. farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture [CSAs], online local buying programs) offer small- and mid-scale farmers a consistent and viable income. Products sold directly to consumers give farmers a higher profit margin than if they were to sell to a retail or wholesale supplier. (See http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/depts/midatlantic/FactSheets/direct_mrkt.shtml for more information). Direct markets also side-step tedious bureaucratic processes and establish more wholesome relationships with the farmers’ clientele. Hopefully these relationships will help farmers to feel a strong sense of pride in both their products and what they are doing for the community at large.

In the research I completed on direct sales avenues, it seems that there is a growing trend of incorporating workplaces as a place for farmers to connect with new potential consumers. What’s more, workplaces offer a beautiful chance to incorporate health insurance benefits to employees. Many companies with workplace CSAs or food share programs have provided payroll deduction options and even discounts on health insurance premiums for employees who participate. These options make participating in direct local food programs all the more attractive.

Here are the perks in a nutshell:

  • Farmers gain access to a consistent market
  • Employees (i.e. clientele) get affordable access to higher quality produce and farm products
  • Partnering businesses get bragging rights on innovative employee benefits and wellness programs
  • Health insurance companies have healthier customers (and fewer expenses) due to increased consumption of nutrient-rich farm products

Because these workplace CSAs and food share programs are still gaining ground, the hardest players to convince about the employee health benefits are the health insurance companies. But even this obstacle is slowly being overcome. Today there are a few examples in which health insurance companies are following suit in promoting local food. For instance, Fairshare CSA Coalition—based out of Madison County, Wisconsin—has created a rebate program ($100 for individuals and $200 for families) to support employees who want to buy local food. The rebate program is managed by four insurance companies—not the businesses where employees work. Since the program’s inception in 2005, rebates were claimed for 75% of all coalition CSA shares…a whopping 28,000 rebates in total. Check out http://www.csacoalition.org/ for more information.

With the changing climate of the healthcare industry and high obesity rates in the U.S., preventative health care measures will begin to play a larger role in our lives. This makes for an ideal time to involve local food and farmers.

Let me not simplify the difficulty in developing direct markets. Implementing such a program will require a lot of time, patience and energy. It will demand a detailed and flexible planning period. However, countless articles and trends point to a growing demand for local food. The more we—as consumers—vote with our dollar in supporting locally sourced food, the bigger the message that sends to our government’s leaders to modify how subsidies are divvied up among farmers. The pendulum of where our food comes from is slowly swinging away from the globally sourced commodity crops and is shifting towards a more centralized food system. I look forward to seeing where the local food scene goes next!

Local Food

Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

It is with bittersweet feelings that I conclude my internship with Heifer. It will be sad to leave all of the lovely employees and friends I’ve made who work at Headquarters, but the time that I’ve spent here has been overall an excellent experience. I look forward (and with great anticipation) to seeing how Heifer progresses—especially with such a colorful program like the Seeds of Change Enterprise.

We thank Lesley for her time here and wish her all the best in her future endeavors. If you are interested in becoming an intern with Heifer International, please contact interns@heifer.org.

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Susan Sarandon Writes About the Thin Months

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The Thin Months

Photo by Russell Powell, courtesy of Heifer International.

Longtime Heifer International supporter Susan Sarandon wrote a piece for the Wall Street Journal this past Sunday. Having narrated the 2011 documentary “After the Harvest: Fighting Hunger in the Coffeelands” (watch clip on our YouTube channel), Sarandon remains interested in the wellbeing of coffee farmers and the connection between Heifer and fair-trade coffee vendor, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. Read the full text of Sarandon’s article here.

Watch a slideshow of photos from our project in Chiapas, Mexico, in partnership with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

Read previous posts on the Thin Months.

Do you have a favorite fair-trade certified coffee? Share it with us in the comments section below.

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