Tag Archives: Guest Post

Elanco Guest Post: A Tanzania Journey

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Gail Neuwirth Geisler was a member of the team of Elanco employees who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro raising money for Heifer International. Here, she shares her impressions from a remarkable visit to Tanzania.

Gail Neuwirth of Elanco on Kilimanjaro

Gail Neuwirth Geisler on Mt. Kilimanjaro

I just returned from two weeks in Tanzania. My Elanco colleagues and I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and raised over $7,000 for Heifer International, getting to know some amazing, hardworking Tanzanian porters and trip leaders in the process. We visited a children’s home in Rotia Valley and took a short safari trip into Ngorongoro Crater. We visited families who were recipients of camels, goats, cattle and chickens through their participation in projects with Heifer. We met with a 30-year veteran of Heifer Tanzania and a large Masai family in the bush. Considering our short time in the country, we saw a lot.

As Americans and Canadians, my colleagues and I are incredibly blessed with all of the resources and opportunities we have. Not because we earned them or deserve them, but simply by virtue of where we were born. It’s very easy for us to take for granted all that we have – it’s all we’ve ever known.

Most of the people we saw in Tanzania experience a much more grueling struggle for the basic necessities of life. Figuring out how to get enough water to drink or enough food to eat and how to transport that water and food is their daily travail. The dry season is long; getting enough rain can mean the difference between survival and starvation. The climate is changing, dry seasons are longer and rains come later. Jobs are scarce, unemployment is staggeringly high. Life is harsh.

Masai women in Tanzania

A visit with a rural Masai family

I left Tanzania with mixed emotions. I was disheartened with the role of women, especially in the Masai culture. I felt very uncomfortable with what I spent on the climb itself – what a selfish use of money! I was surprised to see the steady stream of hikers and the swarms of support they require trekking up the mountain each day, and the debris the least conscientious climbers leave behind. The Ngorongoro Crater was filled with tourists in vehicle after vehicle, tearing through the dust. It seemed like an assault on an already stressed environment.

Yet the very crowds that concern me are putting food on the table for an army of porters and guides. Trekkers enable our climb leaders to send their children to good international schools and possibly to change their future.

Porters on Kilimanjaro Elanco-Heifer trip

Porters with heavy loads on Kilimanjaro

The Heifer participant family we visited was proud of their farm and grateful for the help they had received. It was evident that that although life was still not easy, they could maintain an acceptable level of food security and the kids were all in school. The disabled matriarch of the family beamed when we met and gave us a heartfelt blessing before we left.

The Tanzanian people we met were happy and kind. I always felt safe. The group that I traveled with was amazing. We laughed a lot and bonded over ginger tea and soup. We made it to the summit of Kilimanjaro as a team, and shared tears of joy and amazement at our accomplishment. The entire trip exceeded all my expectations. It truly was a trip of a lifetime and I’m really glad I was able to go. Maybe as I share what I experienced with friends and co-workers, I can help tell the Tanzanian story. I’d like to think that I’ll never look at water or a warm shower quite the same.

Heifer Staff Hoofed it for Heifer

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This guest post was written by Lo Vongsaravane, Finance Assistant for the Asia/South Pacific Area.

First Annual Hoof it for HeiferIt was a great experience for me to participate in my first trail run at Petit Jean State Park for the Hoof It For Heifer on April 14th , especially one that was in support of the great place where I work. I think the event was a great fit since part of the mission is to care for the Earth.  Runners enjoying the beautiful trail are reminded of why we should do our part to protect the environment.  The event would not have been successful without the wonderful volunteers who support Heifer.

Heifer staff Hoof it for HeiferFirst, let me start off by saying that socks are a necessity when you are doing a trail run.  I learned that the hard way at the fourth mile marker. I want to give my many thanks to the kind volunteer who offered up her socks at the aid station. I don’t think it would have been possible for me to finish the race in the allotted 6 hours because I would be crawling due to severely blistered feet.  I didn’t necessarily jump at thought of waking up at 4am on Saturday morning, but it really wasn’t that difficult due to the anticipation of doing the race.  I needed to drive from Little Rock to Morrilton which was about an hour and half. I made sure that I made it in time for the 7am start or I would be disappointed at myself for missing an opportunity to take part.  I was excited that I had other staff join me for the race, Jesus and Ileana.  A former staff also came with me, Andy.  They were all excited about the race and pretty good runners. It was great seeing all the runners that came out to support Heifer, who woke up early on a Saturday morning, and willingly endured 12 miles of some tough terrain.  The weather was perfect for the race.  The trail was very scenic which helped me take my mind off the knee and leg pain during the latter part of the race.   My favorite parts were passing all the rock formations and the creeks. A couple of runners fell into the creek, but they worked through it. I also took some falls on the tricky portions of the trail and was able to trudge through it.  As I headed towards the finish, the cheers from the volunteers were encouraging.  I need to express how much the volunteers have motivated me to do more personally, the way they happily offer their time and money in the event to support Heifer and its mission.  I’m proud to have finished the race as many other runners did.

I think the race was very well organized, especially for being its first year. The Race Director, Wanda Eason, did an awesome job in coordination from beginning to end. The hard work of all in putting the event together is truly appreciated.  I definitely look forward to doing another Hoof It for Heifer soon, with socks.

Being Part of Something Bigger Helps Curb Holiday Stress

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This post was contributed by Jennifer Wheary, a Demos senior fellow who focuses on issues of economic opportunity, education and the global middle class. Wheary is a regular contributor to Newsday and is preparing an article for Heifer’s World Ark magazine.

I was walking down the street this past week in the midst of a mad rush of errands when I received a text message that stopped me in my tracks.  It was from my sister who lives in western Pennsylvania.  “Meltdown.  Half hour from Pittsburgh” was all it said.  My mind raced to the cataclysmic conclusion that a nuclear reactor nearby her home had gone haywire.  My sister had just been visiting me in New York the day before. Panic rising and chest tightening, I thought to myself “Why did she and her 3-year son take the Amtrak train back on Monday, instead of staying here with me where they were safe?  I took a deep breath and called her.  She answered her cellphone with far too chipper “Hey. What’s up?”  I was momentarily stunned.  “What’s happening there?” I anxiously asked.  “Noah’s playing with his Matchboxes and I’m folding laundry,” she replied.
It was only then, after about 3 minutes of angst, that it hit me that the meltdown she had texted me about was in response to a question I had texted a few hours earlier asking how her toddler son had fared during the long train trip.
The experience was sobering, but not too surprising for this time of year. 
The holidays are often associated with hope and optimism, but this is also in many ways the most stressful season.  Everyone seem to have an endless to do list.  An ever-expanding array of responsibilities and social obligations seem par for the course.  61 percent of Americans report experiencing holiday stress, according to American Psychological Association. Fifty-two percent of us report being more irritable at this time of year, and 68 percent of us say we are more fatigued.
When we are overstressed and fatigued, negativity can run amok.  This is in part  brain’s natural response to stress. In his book “Rewire Your Brain,” John B. Arden, a psychologist at Kaiser Permanente, describes how the physiological and biochemical processes involved in seeing all sides of an issue shut down when people experience negative stress. Instead, we kick into a fight-or-flight response designed only for short-term self-preservation.
That response has value. If your hand touches a flame, you need to react quickly and use all of your neurological resources to get out of danger. Ditto if a car cuts you off or stops suddenly in front of you while you’re looking for parking at a crowded mall.
But a short-term fighting stance inhibits our ability to see the bigger picture more clearly – even to the point of temporarily imagining a nuclear disaster. In this way, always being under stress and accentuating the negative impairs our ability to solve or improve anything.
Unfortunately, when we look at the news, negativity is what often garners the most attention and gets broadcast the most loudly. But it’s not all that’s out there. Many people and organizations, like Heifer International, are doing good things.  As a long time Heifer supporter, I was inspired this week by an email sent out by the organization which invited me to “Be part of something bigger.”
This phrase serves as a good reminder to not be overwhelmed by the holiday stress season, and to put the negativity that is naturally likely to arise as in its place. Being part of something bigger can help us curtail our individual counterproductive stress response.  It can help us cope more effectively, leaving us and our world better off.

Volunteers Will Help End Hunger and Poverty

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Post written by Sarah Donaghy, Heifer International community volunteer coordinator. Photos taken at the 2011 Living Gift Market in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, by Sutheera Phimolthitikul, Heifer Thailand administrative manager.

The outrage of hunger amidst plenty will never be solved by “experts” somewhere.  It will only be solved when people like you and me decide to act.  – Frances Moore Lappé 

Such true words from a woman who dedicates herself to taking action for causes that matter to her.  What matters to you?  Since you’re reading this blog, it’s probably safe to say that you, like Ms. Lappé, are interested in ending hunger, as well as ending poverty and caring for the Earth.  That’s the mission of Heifer International, and it bears repeating: to work with communities to end hunger and poverty and care for the Earth.  Further, we envision a world of communities living together in peace and equitably sharing the resources of a healthy planet.  Sounds good, eh?! 
As we find ourselves in the thick of holiday hustle and bustle and approaching a new year, there is no better time to reflect on what matters to us and how we want to take action toward those causes. One such action is volunteering, and it just so happens that the United Nations has declared today International Volunteer Day.  Volunteering with Heifer is a great way to demonstrate your commitment to ending hunger and poverty and caring for the Earth.  Our volunteers educate the public about the issues of hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation and inspire people to take action to solve these problems. 
Heifer’s Community Volunteers promote Heifer by raising awareness and raising funds by sharing the Heifer story with schools, congregations, and civic groups and by representing Heifer at conferences, benefits, and other events in their own regions.  Heifer’s Learning Center Volunteers deliver education programs, care for livestock and gardens, and provide administrative and physical support at one of three specific sites: Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas; Heifer Village in Little Rock, Arkansas; or Overlook Farm in Rutland, Massachusetts.  Presently, both Community Volunteers and Learning Centers Volunteers are organizing and staffing alternative giving markets across the country, which offer visitors the opportunity to learn more about Heifer’s work around the world and to purchase gifts of food- and income-producing livestock benefit resource-poor communities around the world in honor of friends and family near and dear.  Last month, the Heifer Club in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, hosted their annual Living Gift Market in support of Heifer, raising more than $40,000 and hundreds of new fans for the organization.
When you volunteer with Heifer, you are actively cultivating a world of communities living together in peace and equitably sharing the resources of a healthy planet.  In honor of International Volunteer Day, learn more about getting involved with Heifer by visiting www.heifer.org/volunteer.

In Search of a Good Burger

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Today is Blog Action Day 2011. It is also World Food Day. This year’s theme for Blog Action Day is Food. Bloggers all over the world are writing about this one theme, from their own unique perspective. To find out more, visit the Blog Action Day website. Read more of our Blog Action Day posts on Heifer Blog here. 


The following post is by Tina Hall, communications director at Heifer International. 

I am a meat eater surrounded by vegetarians and vegans and even something called freegans that I learned about this week. Apparently freegans eat food that has been thrown into the garbage. This goes well beyond the 30-second rule and George Costanza eating an éclair plucked from a kitchen trash can: “No, no, no. It was not trash … It wasn’t down in. It was sort of on top.”
My burger love extends back to childhood with Happy Meals for good report cards and memories of holiday barbecues with my family. How can something so good be so bad?  The adult version of me has fought against a growing awareness of how those hamburgers I eat have an impact not only on our waistlines, but also the environment.
So imagine my happiness to find a restaurant called b.good on a recent trip to Boston. The owners Anthony and Jon explain on the company website, “We loved fast-food, but hated how it made us feel. So, we created a place where you can feel good about burgers and fries.” Their approach includes making all food themselves with the assistance of local farmers and growers.
Is it still meat? Yes, of course, but at least words like all-natural and local are involved in the conversation. And yes, it was a very good burger.
As we vote with our dollars in favor of locally or sustainably sourced meat (or at least not ground beef treated with ammonia), more and more restaurants are providing us with burgers not so far from home. Are there restaurants in your city or town serving local meats or other foods?

Reasons and Tools for Transitioning to Vegetarianism and Veganism

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Today is Blog Action Day 2011. It is also World Food Day. This year’s theme for Blog Action Day is Food. Bloggers all over the world are writing about this one theme, from their own unique perspective. To find out more, visit the Blog Action Day website. Read more of our Blog Action Day posts on Heifer Blog here. 


The following post is by Erin Snow, communications manager at Heifer International. 

The reasons people decideto adopt a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle can be numerous and, even despitesimilarities, very personal. I grew up eating meat at most meals, but it wasnever my favorite part. I always preferred the starches and leafy green vegetables.Looking back, I never really felt good about eating something that lost theirlife so that my meal could be “complete,” but I didn’t make any real changes tomy diet until 1999 when a medical issue caused me to look more closely at thefood I consumed and how it affected my health. As a single mom to aone-year-old daughter, I was determined to be proactive about our future andkeep whatever I could control in check. At that time, vegetarianism seemed thelogical answer. Over the past 12 years, I’ve been a lazy vegetarian, not eatingmeat, but definitely not eating enough vegetables and fruit to be healthy. I’vealso dabbled in pescetarianism, where seafood is okay, but all other flesh isout, a choice made while visiting my now-husband in New Orleans, where shrimp,crab, oysters and other aquatic jewels can be found as far as eye can see. Po’Boys and crawfish and gumbo, oh my! In an effort to be serious about my healthand safeguard against predisposed laziness, I’ve recently taken the next stepand become vegan.


Sticking to a diet that isvoid of animal-derived products has been educational, for sure. Fortunately, Ihave a couple of vegan friends, Rena Wrenand Meredith Simonds, who have happily shared recipes, websites, books andgeneral tips for being vegan in a carnivore world. Meredith’s website, The Vegan Pledge, features a pledge,blog and other resources. Alicia Silverstone’s The Kind Life website and book, The Kind Diet, have been my go-toresources on my vegan journey. Kris Carr, who went vegan for health reasons,also has an extremely helpful website, CrazySexy Life, and books, including CrazySexy Diet. Did you know there’s such a thing as wine that is not vegan?Isinglass, a collagen that comes from dehydrated swim bladders of fish, isoften used in the clarifying process for beer and wine. Barnivore is a great website guide forfinding insinglass-free vegan beer, wine and liquor.


These resources have beenvaluable tools on a lovely and healthy lifestyle journey that I’m having funfiguring out.

Eating with the Seasons

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Today is Blog Action Day 2011. It is also World Food Day. This year’s theme for Blog Action Day is Food. Bloggers all over the world are writing about this one theme, from their own unique perspective. To find out more, visit the Blog Action Day website. Read more of our Blog Action Day posts on Heifer Blog here. 


The following post is by Kim Machnik, senior coordinator of school programs at Heifer International. 

Photo by NancyK. Creative Commons.

It’sOctober, and where I come from, that means it’s time to celebrate. The applesare here. During the summer, we’re busy with sugar-sweet berries, juicy cornthe color of butter, and tomatoes bursting with sunshine, but those are pastnow. It’s the season of the apple, and with it the sensation of spicy steamfrom a mug of mulled cider against the backdrop of trees in their Sunday bestand air crisp as the pages of a new book. The first bite of a freshly pickedCortland apple is the trumpet call of autumn for me- anticipated but somehowunexpected.


Judgingon the basis of flavor alone, one has to conclude that to eat seasonally ispreferable. I can say with confidence that there is no one who prefers ananemic tomato shivering in a produce bin in February to a late-July braggart ofa fruit, puffed up with its own evident importance and months of sunshine andwarm soil. A limp head of November lettuce, compared to its rigid and robustMay counterpart? No contest. And it may just be me, but no apple from a supermarketshelf in March will ever compare to that jeweled treasure plucked from abeneficent tree in October.


Whata loss it has been to our society to step away from eating foods in their ownseasons! To wait through the dark months for the first stalk of tender greenasparagus, to cry with joy at the first appearance of a raspberry on its bush,to settle in to the first frozen night of early winter with a deep bowl ofcreamy-spicy squash soup- these are profoundly human, deeply culturalexperiences that help us to richly experience the passage of time. Born andraised in Massachusetts, when I bake my first apple pie of the year, I amconnected to generations of New Englanders who have celebrated the turning ofthe seasons in the same way. In Arkansas, my current home, it’s greens in thespring and peaches in the summer that have been celebrated and enjoyedcommunally for time immemorial. 


Whatis more worthy of our patience, anticipation, and joy than that which sustainsus? What greater earthly reward for our forbearance is there than a gift fromthe soil and sun, presented at its absolute prime? What keeps us connected toour homelands and communities better than the shared experience of the best oftheir bounty? I contend that there is nothing. If you disagree, I suggest you findyourself an orchard and pick some apples.

Food and Family

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Today is Blog Action Day 2011. It is also World Food Day. This year’s theme for Blog Action Day is Food. Bloggers all over the world are writing about this one theme, from their own unique perspective. To find out more, visit the Blog Action Day website. Read more of our Blog Action Day posts on Heifer Blog here. 


The following post is by Kim Nixon, assistant to the senior director of Branding and Communications at Heifer International. 


This is just about myfavorite time of the year. The holidays are almost here and for most peoplethis is when things start to get a little crazy – Halloween trick-or-treating,planning Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping, making sure Santa still exists toyour children, etc. For me, this is a time for family and food.   

I’m sure you’re thinking“Halloween is a time for family and food?” My best memories of Halloween arewearing costumes with my brothers and walking door to door asking for candy. Ilove the question “trick or treat.” As a kid I always wanted the treat becauseI loved having a big bag of candy. When I got home, I would always sort thecandy. I only realized later that my parents were checking the candy foranything to suggest that it may have been tampered with. For me, it was alwaysabout what kinds of candy I received – chocolate, suckers, hard candy, chewycandy, candy corn, etc. Finding pictures of us dressed up like vampires andangels remind me of a simpler time.


Thanksgiving is always afun time of the year. Apart from it being celebrated on or around my birthday,it’s a time for my extended family to get together. My dad is one of ninechildren. Every Thanksgiving, we all get together for the weekend – aunts,uncles, cousins, grandkids. We’re a growing bunch. For three days we laugh,play and cook together. Thanksgiving Day is particularly enticing. You wake upto the smell of chocolate gravy, biscuits, eggs, sausage, bacon and coffee.You’ve seen the cartoons where the main character is lifted from their bedfollowing the aroma of whatever is cooking. That’s my family. And it doesn’tstop there. As soon as breakfast is over, it’s time to start the Thanksgivingmeal which is somewhere between lunch and dinner. (I’d like to call it ‘lunner’or ‘dinch’ but it doesn’t have the same ring that ‘brunch’ has for the breakfast/lunchcombination.) With everyone in or around the kitchen, it’s fun to watch auntstelling cousins how to make the stuffing (which is a family secret) or kidsrunning in between everyone cooking. It’s a little crazy at times, but I’mthankful for my wonderful family. They truly make the meal with love. You wouldthink that Thanksgiving day is where it ends, but for my family this cooking andeating together continues until Sunday.

This brings us toChristmas. Christmas in my house is full of goodies. My mom cooks all of ourfavorite sweets – peanut butter balls, humdingers, and more. These are thingswe only make once or twice a year. Growing up, we made cookies for Santa. EachChristmas, I’d place them out and go to sleep with visions of sugar plumsdancing in my head. Well, it may not have been sugar plums but it wassomething. Each Christmas Day, Santa would have eaten a cookie or two and drankhis milk. And I would usually get something from my Christmas list under theChristmas tree. As you get older, some of these traditions stop…although Istill took pictures with Santa until I was well into my 20s. With atwo-year-old niece, we’ll be making cookies for Santa again.


Food has always been a wayto bring our family together whether it’s the joy of cooking our meal togetherin a cramped kitchen or enjoying the food prepared with conversation andlaughter. Most people think of Paula Deen when they think of Southern food –butter, butter and more butter. For me, Southern food is about family. It’s thememories you create that last long after the food is gone.

In Praise of Rural Women

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Today is International Day of Rural Women. In honor of the rural women with whom Heifer works, Elizabeth Bintliff, regional director of Heifer’s West Africa Program, wrote the following post.


Say the word “rural” and it conjures up all kindsof images, some positive and some negative; vast expenses of land, no modernfacilities, illiterate or ignorant people, poor, agrarian, scarce and more.When you put the word in the context of a developing country, and add thegender dimension, one begins to understand the enormous challenges that ruralwomen face.

It is for all these reasons and more that the UNGeneral Assembly established the International Day of Rural Women in 2008 to becelebrated on the eve of World Food Day. This day commemorates what the UN characterizes as “the critical roleand contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancingagricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicatingrural poverty.”


For all the challenges they face, rural women stillhave to feed and sustain their children and families against innumerable odds. Theirdays often begin earlier than the sun rises and end long after the sun sets. Inbetween, they are fetching water – often across great distances, usuallybalancing heavy vessels on their heads, gathering firewood for fuel, workinghunched-over on farms to grow food using rudimentary implements, sometimes withbabies tied precariously on their backs. Life for rural women can be especiallydifficult, and the rewards of their labor are usually small.

The good news is that creating a better livelihoodfor rural women often requires little investment. The key ingredient is simply opportunity.

TakeDiana Asua, a 37-year-old wife and mother of three children, for example. Shelives in a rural community of Santa in Cameroon and is her husband’s secondwife. In addition to her own children, she is raising the six children of herco-wife, who is now diseased.


Dianadescribes herself 11 years ago as “a mere housewife who depended on my husbandtotally for everything about my upkeep and that of the family.  I was also engaged in farming, as any villagewoman would do.”


Agift of pigs from Heifer in 2007 turned things around for her. Soon, theavailability of manure meant better farm production, there we pigs to fattenand sell, there was income to pay for school fees and medical bills. There wasa path out of poverty. Inthe time since she first received her animals she’s sold 116 pigs and manykilos of vegetables.

“Ihave collected at least 120 bags or 12,000 kg of manure from my pigsty. If Iwere to buy this manure, it would have cost at least 480,000FCFA ($898.50). I nowproduce corn, beans and Irish potatoes on the same half hectare of farm andhave gotten another half hectare for cabbage, leeks and carrots. I started allof this after having gotten seeds from Heifer. I harvest at least 1000kg ofcorn, 50kg of beans, 150kg of Irish potatoes, 6,000kg of cabbage, 2000kg ofcarrots and 750kg of leaks yearly. All of these were reserved just for menbefore; now look at where I am as a woman.”

Lifeis tough for rural women. It takes a great amount of industrial spirit to eke alife in places where there is so little. Yet, a large percentage of the worlddoes it every day, in the remote recesses of the earth, in places that areoften un-named and uncharted.

Soit is meaningful that on the International Day of Rural Woman we all pausefor a moment to recognize the brave, industrious women who make it happen. It’simportant that we look at them, if only for a day but hopefully for longer andsay to them: “We see you, you are making a meaningful contribution to the world, and we acknowledge you.“

Travel to Cusco: Reflections from a Heifer Study Tour Participant

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Ian Hands is an employee of Elanco, one of Heifer’s corporate partners. He recently participated in a Heifer Study Tour to Peru and was gracious enough to share his reflections with us.

We took a one hour internal flight from Lima to Cusco, South Peru, to join up with Heifer staff there.  Cusco is a historic city and is positioned in the mountains at an altitude of 3, 200m, high enough to cause altitude sickness when going from sea level to 3,200 meters (10,499 feet) in one hour!

There are three main areas in this region:  Cusco (1.1 million people), Apurimas (404,000 people) and Puno (1.2 million people).  Politics seems to focus on welcoming large investors rather than supporting small communities.  Mining companies in particular are making investments that cause problems for small rural communities.  They take land close to water resources, which causes issues with supply and pollution.  Although promises of work, health care, schools, etc. are made, they sometimes don’t materialise or workers are employed from Lima instead.  Where offers are made to relocate farming families, they are left with the problem of what does a rural farmer do in a city?
Heifer is supporting 14,400 families in South Peru, working in 92 farming communities.  Projects are always suited to the environment and ecosystem that the families are living in.  For example, it is important to breed from native Peruvian sheep and select the best characteristics, as foreign breeds are too delicate for the environment.
Passing on the Gift is a major component of any project, and this is what will be seen tomorrow.