Tag Archives: news

Heifer Gets $8.5 Million From Gates Foundation for Africa Dairy Work

Posted on by
0

One of Heifer International’s biggest projects is EADD – the East Africa Dairy Development project. It was started in 2008 with a $42.8 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It’s helping about 179,000 small-scale dairy farmers to double their incomes.

The Kosgei family in Nandi County, Kenya, are participants in the East Africa Dairy Development project.

Now, we’re happy to announce that we’ve received a one-year, $8.5 million grant from the Gates Foundation to continue that work. The grant will support existing projects in Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda and explore possibilities for expansion in Ethiopia and Tanzania.

Transporters in Uganda pour a day's milk into containers at a farmers' coorperative.

 

“We are excited for the opportunity to continue serving dairy farming families and grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their support,” says Elizabeth Bintliff, vice president of Heifer International’s Africa area program.

So what, exactly does EADD do? The project helps small dairy farmers sustainably increase their milk productivity and efficiency. It also helps them sell more milk by connecting to markets and by creating and expanding infrastructure like collection hubs and chilling plants.

EADD is now in its final year of the pilot phase. It has grown to be one of the leading market-oriented agro-livestock development initiatives in East Africa, earning the farming families more than $35 million.

Heifer International is implementing the project, with help from partners TechnoServe, The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), World Agroforestry Research Institute and Africa Breeders Services.

Heifer Around the Web: Preschoolers Trike-a-Thon for Heifer

Posted on by
0

Every Sunday we will highlight some of the people who are funding our work creatively or helping us spread the word of our mission online. If you spot Heifer International while you’re surfing the web or know of a fun or creative fundraising effort, please share it with us here in the comments.

Photo credit: The Henshaw Family Blog

Proud mom Joy blogs about her 3-year-old daughter participating in her preschool’s trike-a-thon to raise money for a playground and for Heifer International. Her class decided to donate a hive of honeybees.

The student-run newspaper at  Leesville Road High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, tells about a very successful fundraiser many classes and clubs have taken part in. They hadn’t decided which animals to buy at the time the story was written, but are considering a camel, goats or llamas.

The University of Arkansas’ Heifer International student organization  held a concert to benefit Heifer in Fayetteville. The lineup for the benefit included Tim Meitzen, The Skinny Quartet, Teenagers, Swimming, Allison Williams and the Hot Ash String Band, and DJ Hayden Luckenbach. Thanks to the bands for playing, and the audience, who paid $5 per person to listen to good music and help fight hunger and poverty around the world.

Creative sixth graders at Kinawa Montessori came up with an idea that raised about $650 for Heifer — selling friendship bracelets made of twisted colorful thread and hearts made of construction paper, and asked local businesses for cash donations. That’s enough to buy a cow, goat, sheep and 50 chickens, and help families across the world.

Great Cloth Diaper Change

The Great Cloth Diaper Change. Photo Credit: Can I Decide Later Blog

I spotted Lisa’s blog first, Simple Journeys, where she shared some photos from her visit to the Heifer International Campus for Earth Day last weekend. She referred her readers to her daughter Kristin’s blog, Can I Decide Later, for the “low down” of the day’s events, including the record-breaking Great Cloth Diaper Change. Great photos and a great read! We are glad you had so much fun!

Author and blogger Carole Carson found a recipe for kale and bean soup in the Fall 2010 issue of World Ark, a magazine published by Heifer International, and offers her revised version of the recipe (including options to lower the calories). You can find the recipe here; let us know if you try it out.

Franny Bolsa gives Heifer a mention on her blog 8 Mother’s Day Gift Ideas. After all, she so cleverly notes, a Heifer gift doesn’t have to be dusted!

 

Heifer Around the Web: A Little Girl Determined to Change the World

Posted on by
0

Every Sunday we will highlight some of the people who are funding our work creatively or helping us spread the word of our mission online. If you spot Heifer International while you’re surfing the web or know of a fun or creative fundraising effort, please share it with us here in the comments!

It’s so inspiring to read blogs about those who give of their time and hard-earned money to help us in our mission to end hunger and poverty. These caught my eye this week:

With the huge jackpot looming, there had been talk everywhere about what people would do once they won the lottery. We were lucky enough to be mentioned in one would-be winner’s plans.

This mom blogs about how “some bedtime tears and $7.00 turned into two flocks of chicks and two strongly worded letters to President Obama and Secretary Clinton. And a little girl determined to change the world.” A great read on Redefine Girly, Pigtail Pals blog.

Mary Steenburgen talks home decor, entertaining, and her candle company, which donates $2 from each candle purchase to Heifer International.

These people made the news last week for their creative fund-raising efforts on behalf of Heifer International:

Fairfield Grace United Methodist Church in Connecticut hosted an annual Bunny Breakfast last weekend with proceeds going to Heifer International. Check out the cute pics!

Jana Bass mixes her business (all-natural goat milk skin care line) and generous spirit by bringing one of her goats to talk to third-graders about Beatrice’s Goat, a true story about a Ugandan girl who received a goat through Heifer International, allowing her to sell milk and afford an education, hoping to inspire them in their own fundraising efforts to buy a goat to help a family in need become self-sufficient.

Students in the Davies World Language Department in Fargo Schools competed to raise the most loose change for Heifer International’s matching project in Vietnam, so their hard work’s results will be doubled. Team Pig won, Team Sheep came in second, and Team Rabbit came in third, with a total donation of $2,185.00. (I love those team names, don’t you?)

Mike Ainsworth of Illinois is gearing up for a 420-mile cycling tour to raise awareness on world hunger and Heifer International. Read the whole story here.

And last but not least, here’s an interesting little snippet about a Heifer project in Cameroon, found on a climate action website:

Julian Mengue, a government program participant set up with the help of Heifer International, turns her animals’ manure into fuel, saving money AND helping the environment at the same time.