Storming the Castle: A Lesson From My Mom

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Chelsey McNiel

The character Miracle Max and his wife Valerie put the chocolate coating on the magic pill. Photo credit: ssava.deviantart.com

One of my favorite childhood movies was “The Princess Bride.” William Goldman’s classic fairytale follows Princess Buttercup and her beloved farm boy, Wesley, as they climb the Cliffs of Insanity, face the perilous Fire Swamp and battle an evil prince all in the name of love.

As conflict builds, Wesley is paralyzed and Princess Buttercup relunctantly agrees to marry the spiteful Prince Humperdinck. Wesley’s enemies, turned companions, seek help from the magician Miracle Max and he revives Wesley with a magical chocolate covered pill.

The heroes then agree to penetrate Humperdincks defenses and rescue Buttercup. While wishing the heroes goodluck, Miracle Max waves and says, “Have fun storming the castle!”

My mom quotes this iconic line often. When I was younger, she would say it when I left for school or to hang out with friends. But over the years, those whimsical words have become more than a fun farewell.

Life is hard. (Overstated yes, but it remains true.) And though life’s battles may not overthrow us, their effects can paralyze the strongest, especially if we choose to fight alone.

My mom is like Miracle Max’s chocolate covered pill. Her sweet nature allows her to teach without saying a word, love despite flared tempers and, forgetting her own grief, provide comfort to a jaded heart. These attributes loosed me when I felt paralyzed and allowed me to storm countless castles.

Mothers worldwide confront the fortress of hunger and poverty every day. Heifer International stands with them as they strive for sustainable income, health care and their children’s education. We at Heifer would like to wish mothers around the globe a happy Mother’s Day, and thank them for the contributions they’ve made to their own families and communities worldwide.

This year, help Heifer brave the walls of injustice with a gift that will be passed on and impact numerous families. This Mother’s Day. Gift Different. Give Heifer.

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

Give your mom a gift of impact and purpose

Watch Love Grow on Mother’s Day

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Chelsey McNiel

Every week we feature a fun and/or educational activity you can try at home or in the classroom. The U.S. wears a mask of western wealth, but hunger and poverty are still a reality for many communities in the Arkansas Delta and Appalachia. Heifer International is making a difference in our own backyard with the Seeds of Change project.

On Mother’s Day, you can make a difference too. Heifer’s Gift Catalog offers ideas that will impact mothers worldwide and create positive, lasting change. And to present your mom with this alternative gift, make a Mother’s Day card that will let her watch love grow.

: Photo credit: karewares.blogspot.com

How to make a growing flower pot card.

What you need:

Seed Paper
Scissors
Glue
Yarn
Marker
Photo (of yourself or child)
Printable Template

Follow these steps:

Cut out the flower pot from the printable template.
Once your seed paper is ready, cut out four flowers that are one inch smaller than the width of the flower pot.
Write a message on the first three flowers like “I love you,” or “World’s Best Mom.” (One word on each flower.)
Glue the photo to the fourth flower.
Cut out grass to place at the top of the flower pot, or use the grass template.
Cut a piece of yarn long enough to place all four flowers on its length.
In order of your message, glue (tape or staple) the flowers to the yarn; leaving a small tab at the top to pull the flowers out of the pot when finished.
Glue the bottom of the yarn to the inside bottom of the flower pot.
Glue the flower pot template together, let dry.
Write “Happy Mother’s Day” on the front of the flower pot.

Once you are done, insert the flowers and yarn into the flower pot. When you pull on the yarn tab, the flowers will come out revealing your message and lastly, your photo. Make sure Mom plants her seed paper flowers so she can watch love grow from her Mother’s Day card. Simply place the seed paper flowers into raked ground, cover with about half an inch of soil and keep moist. Germination should take about six to eight weeks.

Learn how Heifer is growing Seeds of Change.

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

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Linda Meyers

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.

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.

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.

Photo courtesy of Heifer International

This Mother’s Day Gift Different. Give Heifer.

Female Farmer Succeeds Through Training

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Chelsey McNiel

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.

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

Learn how you can help Pass on the Gift®

Support Women Worldwide on Mother’s Day

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Chelsey McNiel

In Spitak, in the Lori region of Armenia, lives Irina Dallaqyan, a 37-year-old widow and mother to three sons. The family has lived in temporary housing since 1988 when an earthquake left them homeless. A local farm provided Irina with work as a dairy maid, but her position only paid an inadequate $140 a month.

Irina with her sons, Arayik (left) and Vladimir, at their home in Spitak, Lori region, Armenia. Photo by Aram Petrosyan, Program Coordinator, Heifer Armenia

Irina’s neighbor told her about Heifer International’s work with Spitak Farmers Association and she made a request to become a recipient in the next Passing on the Gift® ceremony.

“I received two pigs from the project, [but] because my family lives in a temporary shelter, we have no barn,” Irina said.

The Heifer project, Agricultural Development Project in Spitak and Lernantsk Communities, helps farmers house their animals together and share the work and income generated from the joint farming.

“One of my pigs delivered eight piglets, and the other delivered nine,” Irina said. “I sold 10 piglets out of 17 and generated 180,000 Armenian drams (about $430). The money I saved from the sales of the piglets was directed to purchase feed for the animals. The rest, seven piglets, I kept to enlarge my farm.”

Through Heifer’s work, Irina found the support she needed and looks forward to future success.

This Mother’s Day you can support women worldwide with gift ideas from Heifer and give your mom something that truly makes a difference. Your gift can support impoverished mothers with training, livestock and clean water, which will help them rise out of poverty and become self-reliant.

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

You can help Heifer support mothers worldwide.

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

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Linda Meyers

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.

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.

Felicia: A Mother in Romania

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Chelsey McNiel

Felicia lives in Romania with her husband and nine children. She works tirelessly to provide her family with everything they need to be healthy and happy. Since joining a buffalo project in 2011, the family’s nutrition has improved from the milk and dairy products their buffalo, Florica, provides. Felicia has hope for a bright future for her family.

Greta Grishanova, Director of Programs for Heifer’s Central and Eastern Europe area, shares Felicia’s story.

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

This Mother’s Day. Gift Different. Give Heifer.

Heifer International Gifts Make Unique Mother’s Day Presents

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Kelly MacNeil

Mother’s Day is approaching, and that means it’s time to show our mothers and grandmothers our appreciation for the care they’ve given us. Many people find that a Heifer donation is a very special gift, especially since it will empower mothers around the world trying to support their families.

Mothers everywhere want what is best for their children. That’s why it’s important to honor our moms by extending greater opportunities to women struggling to get by. Simple changes can have huge impacts; women in the developing world could regain 200 million work hours every day if they all had access to clean water in their homes.

Heifer International Mother’s Day gifts like of a flock of chicks, clean water or a healthy home can bring transformative benefits for a family in need. Faith Onyango’s family, for example, was trapped in crushing poverty in a Kenyan village with her husband and three children before Heifer arrived. She was struggling to feed her children and their home was a crumbling mud brick hut.

But then, because of an individual’s donation, Faith received a heifer and training in organic farming from Heifer International. The cow’s manure helped increase the family’s corn harvest fourfold. With their new earnings, Faith sends her children to school and has built a new, safe house. She has now Passed on the Gift of her cow’s first calf to a neighbor.

Mother's Day gift bee

Heifer International provides Mother’s Day gift honor cards that explain to gift recipients the impact a gift of livestock can have for a family in need.

With $1.9 billion spent on Mother’s Day flowers each year, Heifer International believes that donations to help families around the globe are the most meaningful – and impactful – Mother’s Day gifts available.

Ester: A Mother in the Philippines

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Chelsey McNiel

In December 2012, Typhoon Bopha devastated the Philippines. Families lost their neighbors, homes and livelihoods. Ester, a mother and Heifer Philippines project participant, isn’t sure she will be able to realize her dream of providing a better life for her children than what she had.

Annie Bergman, senior writer for World Ark magazine, shares her story.