Tag Archives: education

Female Farmer Succeeds Through Training

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Story by John Allen | External Relations Specialist | Heifer South Africa

Constance Masala, her husband and two children live in Musunda village, South Africa. For several years, their village suffered from a serious drought and the family survived month to month on a meager government grant.

A couple years after joining the Khongode Project in 2009, the family received five goats and livestock training from Heifer South Africa. During Heifer’s training, Constance studied basic veterinary care and also trained her children to detect when the animals have fallen ill. Now she can correctly identify common diseases, properly measure medications, vaccinate livestock against diseases and assist during problematic births. She also learned how to protect her goats from baboons and jackals, which plague the village.

Goats, training

Through Heifer’s training, Constance Masala and her children have learned how to properly care for their goats. Photo courtesy of Heifer South Africa

Constance has successfully reared eight more goats from her original five, which have brought joy to the Masala family and other impoverished families through Passing on the Gift® (POG). During a June 14, 2012 POG ceremony, Constance passed on a pregnant goat to project participant Gladys Munzhelele, which allowed Gladys to start a small-scale farming business.

“Our lives have changed,” Constance said. “Every morning my husband and I and the kids go to the kraal to check if the goats slept well.”

This Mother’s Day, help women like Constance improve their livelihoods and provide for their families. Give your mother a gift of purpose and impact. Gift Different. Give Heifer.

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

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

Learn how you can help Pass on the Gift®

From the Field: Education Multiplies Hope

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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 Training and Education Cornerstone is the first stop on every participant’s journey to Passing on the Gift®. Education makes the achievement of self-reliance and sustainable livelihoods possible and gives project participants the tools to multiply justice and hope worldwide.

The Port Loko district of Sierra Leone suffers from seasonal bush fires, which consume fruit trees, cause water shortages and reduce crop yields. Heifer International is working with Kids Arise, a local non-governmental drama organization, to educate communities on the dangers of bush fires and preventative measures. Through drama and song, Kids Arise has helped decrease deforestation.

Kids Arise

Kids Arise, a drama group from Sierra Leone, educates communities about deforestation and preventative measures. Photo by Valesius Koker

Renuka Begum, a 40-year-old wife and mother, did not receive a childhood education due to extreme poverty. After participating in trainings on Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development, gender and justice and improved animal management, she began applying her education to improve her family’s livelihood. Her daughter’s education is now secure and Renuka is diligent in sharing, caring and participating in self-help group (SHG) activities.

Giving out recipes with her haricot bean sales gave Shushan's business an innovative approach. Photo by Anna Arakelyan

Giving out recipes with her haricot bean sales gave Shushan’s business an innovative approach. Photo by Anna Arakelyan

Sixteen-year-old Shushan Khachatryan of Armenia presented a business plan and received a $100 grant to start her business through Heifer Armenia’s Young Agriculturists Network of Armenia (YANOA) project. She selected a business plan by applying what she had learned through YANOA, which increased her haricot bean sales. “When I was developing my business plan I took into account many details,” Shushan said. “Yet, in my simple business idea I invested an innovative approach. I decided to provide recipes of dishes prepared from haricots to all the customers who would buy haricots from me.”

 

Learn how you can multiply justice and hope worldwide

NOW We Send Our Children to School

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Nancy Ascencio Neira lives with her husband, Galo, on their family farm in Manglaralto parish along Ecuador’s Pacific coast. They have seven sons; two have moved to Guayaquil, the nearest big city. One is studying at the university in Guayaquil and the rest live at home. Galo only attended school through the 6th grade and Nancy never went. “My parents said I was too pretty, and I would get married soon,” she said.

Photo by Russell Powell

Photo by Russell Powell

Nancy and Galo wanted to give their children opportunities they didn’t have. “If we don’t educate our children, then their life will be as difficult as ours,” Galo said. However, sending their children to school was always difficult. “I haven’t been able to educate all our children because we are a low-income family,” he said.

In July 2010, they received 100 chickens as participants in a Heifer project. They later received two pigs, fruit trees, vegetable seeds and a backpack sprayer. Galo was excited to receive so many seeds because they wanted to diversify the plants and produce on their farm. “Since we produce our own vegetables, we no longer have to buy and that’s an additional income for us,” Galo said. Plus, their farm is now 90 percent organic and their produce is healthier.

Photo by Russell Powell

Photo by Russell Powell

The chickens also made an immediate impact. Every two and a half months, they sell 100 chickens. After 15 months, they have earned more than $3,400. Some of the profit was used to buy raw materials for Nancy’s handicrafts, another source of income. She weaves baskets and makes jewelry to sell at a friend’s store, with part of these earnings saved for their children’s education. “The benefits we derive from Heifer don’t just help the adults, but also our children. Through this project we have been able to send our children to school,” Galo said.

Nancy said, “Education is very important, because in reality it is the only thing we have to give them.” She hopes that her children won’t stay in the city, but that they will be able to buy their own farms and have better lives. “I hope my children won’t abandon the land. I want to instill in them the idea that the countryside is good and that planting the land and caring for animals is also good,” Galo said.

The couple has also been able to purchase geese, mules and horses from the income they earned selling chickens. The mules haul the family’s produce to sell and helps move organic fertilizer and compost to the fields. Their horses are used by the agro-tourists that visit the area each year.

Photo by Russell Powell

Photo by Russell Powell

Besides boosting incomes, another long-term impact of this project is the changing role of women in the community. Nancy is no longer relegated to household chores; she helps with the farming, is a businesswoman and is president of Asociacion de Muejers Artesanas de dos Mangas, a local women’s handicraft association. “She provides us with additional income and a better economic standing,” Galo said. Nancy enjoys being able to contribute to the family income. “I have something to say when we make decisions about our money,” she said.

“Our community is now very conscious about living a better life,” Galo said. Non-project community members are seeking advice from group members. “Heifer is helping us and we are helping others, including our children,” Nancy said.

Galo likes Heifer’s approach because it is a simple idea. He said “the idea is to share and payback.”

A gift to Heifer can help send children to school.

World Health Day Teaches Kids to Relieve the Pressure

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Every week we feature a fun and/or educational activity you can try at home or in the classroom. World Health Day is held on April 7 to celebrate the founding of World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948. The 2013 theme is “Control Your Blood Pressure,” which is not usually associated with children; however, among infants and children hypertension can be linked to kidney problems or excess weight.

Photo credit: timeanddate.com

Photo credit: timeanddate.com

Celebrate World Health Day 2013

WHO’s goal for World Health Day is to raise awareness about high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes. Healthy habits improve detection and lower risk of hypertension.

  • Know the health consequences of high blood pressure
  • Encourage others to check their blood pressure
  • Establish healthy behaviors
  • Reduce salty foods
  • Stay active

WHO also encourages individuals to share their experiences through social media, host a local discussion group or organize an event, such as an art exhibit or concert, to spread the news.

Kidshealth.org provides health information for parents, teens and kids. The site’s games and activities teach children about growing up, staying fit and eating healthy. ‘How the Body Works’ scavenger hunt is head to toe fun as kids learn how their body functions. Parents and kids can also watch movies, read articles, take quizzes and other activities to learn about heart health.

World Health Day 2013

Photo credit kidshealth.org

Heifer International project participants learn how to live healthier lives by eating more nutritious foods and improving living conditions. When participants receive an animal, or other gifts like seeds or trees, they also receive training on how to successfully care for that gift. As they begin to sell milk, eggs, cheese, honey, meat and wool, they reap the benefit of increased income and improved diets. Some also share with their neighbors when they have extra.

Join Team Heifer to create a healthier world

From the Field: Global Empowerment Launches Women’s Future

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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.

Editor’s note: Empowering women is at the core of Heifer International’s model for sustainable development. In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, this week we are sharing stories of the women with whom Heifer works, who take the gifts of livestock and education to produce extraordinary results for themselves, their families and their communities.

Eka and Guri

Eka Surameli and her son Guri, pick tomatoes in their garden. Photo by Nino Tskhadadze

Eka Surameli, a 42-year-old mother of four children and two grandchildren, lost her home and livelihood during the Russian-Georgian war. The family left their garden and orchard unattended when soldiers forcefully emptied the Georgian border village. After the war ended in 2008, villagers returned to destroyed homes, burned fields and the continuing echo of gunfire.

Eka attended training on modern agricultural technologies through the Rural Development for Future Georgia (RDFG) organization and learned how to better maintain her garden and orchard. She worries her children will never forget the cruelty of war, but because of Heifer’s partnership with RDFG, she has hope for a peaceful future.

On February 22, 2013, Heifer Cambodia and its partner, Gender and Development for Cambodia, launched the three-year project Promotion and Protection of Women’s Rights and Socio-Economic Empowerment. The European Union awarded about $1,441,720 in funding to help the project promote gender equality and women’s participation in sustainable socioeconomic development in Cambodia. Keo Keang, country director of Heifer Cambodia, said the impact on women’s lives will increase their self-confidence and also make a positive change in the expectations and behavior of men, families and communities.

Trinh Thi Phuong Dung, Heifer Vietnam

Heifer Vietnam project participant Trinh Thi Phuong Dung stands next to her family’s sugarcane field. Photo by Maria Lynn Wrabel, courtesy of Heifer International.

 

As a child, Heifer Vietnam participant Trinh Thi Phuong Dung was only allowed to complete the fifth grade. Understanding the importance of education, Dung and her husband have worked hard to finance their son’s and two daughters’ college educations. The couple began raising catfish and sugarcane with a $100 revolving fund through Heifer Vietnam. Dung and her family also help support their community by hosting monthly meetings for project participants to share experiences, ask questions and offer advice.

Empower more women with Heifer on International Women’s Day.

From the Field: Expertise Ensures Project Sustainability

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

The sustainability of Heifer International’s projects rely on expertise. Project participants, partner organizations, local authorities and veterinarians provide that expertise, ensuring the work’s long-term impact.

Pigs are the main livestock in Mountain Province in the Philippines. Between original and pass on families, 1,000 families have been affected by Heifer’s swine projects. Due to the number of people who have worked with Heifer in the area, the possibility of inbreeding is high, which results in low-quality piglets. Heifer Philippines staff in response to this threat contacted the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-CAR) regional office to request a new bloodline. Dr. Anthony Bantog, regional chief of the Livestock Division and also a member of Heifer Philippines Country Program Advisory Committee, facilitated the process. Five Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) received new boars and will receive training and artificial insemination (AI) equipment. The CAHWs have a deeper understanding of AI practices and bloodlines. They will lend their new-found expertise to others in their communities, guaranteeing the swine breeding will successfully continue.

Expertise

Photo courtesy of Heifer International

Heifer collaborates with experienced partner organizations in its projects. Heifer Nepal and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), working together for the third time, are rehabilitating families affected by conflict. During the 10 years of civil unrest between the then Maoist Rebels and the government, many people disappeared. The livelihoods of these families were disrupted when the bread-winning relation went missing. Heifer’s development model and ICRC’s Psychosocial Support Framework combine to intervene and support the Nepalese as they manage their grief while simultaneously helping them improve their livelihoods. The prowess of the two organizations formed the groundwork for the favorable, long-lasting outcome of this intervention.

The Vayots Dzor region of Armenia remains a tourist attraction, noted for the landscape’s beauty and the quality of the honey produced there. Students have joined Heifer Armenia’s beekeeping project and are using the generated income to pay for their university educations. Beekeeping is a labor-intensive process; the bees require specific conditions to thrive. Lilit Khachatryan, an active project participant and fourth-year student at Giteliq University, attends all Heifer’s training on beekeeping practices. Knowledge and experience are necessary for prosperous hives. She has learned from her father, an experience beekeeper, the technicalities of beekeeping. By utilizing her father’s expertise and Heifer’s training, Lilit has become a successful beekeeper.

Help more families by donating now.

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.

 

Provide Education for Girls on Universal Children’s Day

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Uneducated women live a limited life. They have few personal choices about marriage, the number of children they will have and how their family will spend its money. Education for girls is a key element in fighting hunger and poverty.

Limited Lives

Education For Girls

Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

Due to their marginalized status in many areas of the world, women’s movements are often restricted to the home, and they are not welcome to participate in making personal or community decisions. Their husbands dictate their lives. Their lack of education coupled with their low status severely limits income-generating opportunities. Moreover, their social subordination places them at a high risk for domestic violence, and if they become widows or their marriage ends, trafficking.

People in many places still believe spending money on sending a girl to school is pointless. And if she is lucky enough to get to go, when income is limited, the family often will stop her schooling in favor of spending the money on her brothers’ school fees. When half of the population isn’t fulfilling its potential, the entire community suffers.

Education for Girls Changes Women’s Lives

Basic education for girls changes their lives. The Strey Tbong Pich women’s group in Cambodia has learned to read and write thanks to training through a Heifer International project. They can now learn about sanitation and nutrition, keep financial records and have access to more income-generating opportunities.

“Before joining the group and attending the literacy class, our family had never drunk boiled water,” said 37-year-old Kan Nai Ky from the Strey Tbong Pich women’s group. “Our house was not hygienic, as we had never cared about waste around our house, and there was no sanitation inside the house. Since studying the literacy book on improving the environment, we know the importance of good hygiene, sanitation and the environment. Now we always boil the water before drinking.”

Imagine if these women had learned to read when they were girls. What different lives might they have led?

One of our newest items in the Heifer International Gift Catalog is Send a Girl to School. The gift provides a family in need with training and livestock so they can earn the income they need to pay for their daughter’s school fees and supplies. Education for girls is one of the surest ways to break the cycle of poverty and dependence in a community.

Universal Children’s Day is Today

Celebrate this Universal Children’s Day by changing the future for a girl. This holiday, created in 1954 by the United Nations, works to benefit the interests of children by limiting long-work hours and increasing access to education.

This Universal Children’s Day, help provide education for girls by giving now. Your holiday gift for a loved one can truly transform the lives of others.

This post is part of our What to Give series, where we’re helping you choose the best Heifer gift for your loved ones. Read previous What to Give posts here, and subscribe to the What to Give series here.

Still don’t know what to give? Check out our entire online Gift Catalog.

 

 

How to Make Biogas at Home

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Every week we feature a fun and/or educational activity you can try at home or in the classroom. We have begun mailing our Gift Catalog for this year’s holiday season and will be featuring activities that highlight the items available.

Biogas

Photo courtesy of Heifer International

Biogas Can Save Power and Save the Planet

Excessive harvesting of trees for fuel can strip the land of its topsoil, leading to deforestation. Deforestation and global climate change complicate poverty issues. Sustainability is one of Heifer International’s Cornerstones, and we work to incorporate its principles in all our projects. One way Heifer International is doing this is through the use of biogas. Biogas, a fuel source based on the methane from animal waste, offers a cheap, sustainable option.

A simple way to teach kids about alternative energy sources and sustainability is by making a bottle that shows how gas is made when materials decay.

 Biogas Materials:

Biogas

Photo courtesy of Blm.Gov

  • Raw meat
  • Lettuce leaves or vegetables
  • 2-liter soda bottle
  • Sand
  • Water
  • Balloon
  • Rubber gloves
  • Masking tape
  • String

First, put on the gloves and drop the raw meat and the vegetables into the bottle. Don’t put too much in, just cover the bottom well. Don’t touch the outside of the bottle while you do this. Next, wash your hands and dispose of the gloves. Then get two tablespoons of sand and pour it in the bottle, covering the contents.

Next, take two teaspoons of water and pour it in the bottle. Stretch the balloon over the bottle’s neck. Secure it in place with a string and wrap masking tape over the string.

Place in a warm location. The balloon will inflate over the next three days because of the gas that is being created by decay. Throw the project away after use.

For more details about this project, read this article.

 See how biogas stoves change the lives of rural women in Uganda.

Give now to help families improve their lives and practice conservation with biogas stoves.

 

Heifer International From the Field: Training and Education

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

Heifer International

Heifer International’s model of change hinges on education. The importance of training participants and its correlation to success cannot be overstated.

While many farmers may have the correct supplies, success often remains elusive because they don’t have the proper training. In Vietnam, backyard chicken production is popular in rural areas. Diseases, weather conditions and lack of knowledge kept preventing the chicken farmers from prospering. Heifer International Vietnam held a Farmer Field School training where farmers shared their experiences and learned from each other. The training gave them the knowledge they needed to be successful.

Mary Were and her son, Franklin, show off the family cow in Kenya.

Education also empowers disenfranchised groups. Mary Adhiambo Were’s husband died of HIV, and she struggled for years after his death. Family members of those with HIV often face rejection from the community. Mary joined a women’s cooperative where she learned how to increase her small farm’s yield. After receiving this training, Mary coaxed maximum productivity out of her farm using sustainable agricultural practices. Now, she sells milk, eggs, chickens and vegetables and bought two more acres of land with the profits from her endeavors.

Similarly, participation in Heifer International’s projects provides children with the opportunity for education. Kenflore, a 5-year-old living in Haiti, helps care for her family’s goats. The extra-income the gift of a goat provides will pay her school fees, setting her up for success.