Sustainability at Heifer International: Part 2

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Pierre Ferrari

At Heifer International, “sustainability” is much more than a buzzword. It’s at the core of everything we do. If your donation isn’t going to make a lasting difference, what’s the point of giving? As I mentioned in my blog post Thursday, Heifer’s work can be viewed through three lenses of sustainability. This post is the second in a three-part series to examine what genuine sustainability looks like at Heifer International. Read Part 1 here.

Sustainability: The capacity to endure

Heifer’s work is made possible through the contributions of individuals, families, congregations, civic groups, schools, private foundations, corporate partners, government entities and others. What a shame it would be if these generous gifts, once given, became obsolete. The beauty of our model, however, is that the original recipients of a project’s livestock, agricultural resources and training are committed to Passing on the Gift in equal quantity and quality.

Sustainability through Passing on the Gift in China. Photo by Russell Powell, courtesy of Heifer International.

Watch Alton Brown explain how gifts to Heifer International exemplify sustainability through Passing on the Gift:

This process happens a minimum of one time per project. Would you believe that the average project’s gifts are passed on for five or six (livestock) generations? In Nepal, some projects have Passed on the Gift 13 times. These extra pass-ons aren’t at the requirement of our project staff; they happen because families and communities are so transformed by these gifts, they want to keep paying it forward. Now that’s making a donation last.

Check back on the Heifer Blog tomorrow for Part 3 of this Sustainability at Heifer series. Better yet, subscribe to the blog by email or RSS feed and keep up with Heifer every day.

Want to give the gift of genuine sustainability? Visit our online gift catalog now.

Half the Sky Part 2: Talent and Opportunity

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Allison Stephens

This post is a continuation of my reflections on the documentary, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. You can read my thoughts on the first half here.

During the second half of Half the Sky, there were two stories that made me realize how important education and leadership are for women globally. When woman are provided with opportunity, they do not just lift themselves out of poverty, but they also lift their entire families out of poverty as well.

The documentary travels to India, where 90 percent of sex workers’ daughters also follow in their footsteps. When a woman was asked why she didn’t send her daughter away for an education, the woman replied, “Because my daughter would be smarter than I am, and judge me.” The daughter herself was afraid of her fate because she knew that her appearance would fetch a high price in that community if she were sold. All the young girl wanted was a chance at something else in life.

After India, Half the Sky visited a female village in Kenya where they have learned to build their own school, become business leaders, and make their own decisions with what little resources they have been able to find. As we meet a woman who owns an oil business in her community she said, “What I learned, I did not keep to myself. I shared it.” Though she was not part of a Heifer project, it really stuck with me that Heifer’s Cornerstone of Passing on the Gift should be shared for all of us.

At Heifer International, we help lift women and their communities out of hunger and poverty using the our 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development, which include: Training and Education, Gender and Family Focus, and Full Participation.

The fastest way to make a difference is to invest in women globally. By providing education, leadership and resources to women in need, they will do what it takes to help their families. As Nicholas Kristoff said last night, “In this world, talent is universal but opportunity is not.”

Did you watch either or both parts of Half the Sky? Tell me in the comments section below what you thought about it.

Did you miss it but want to watch it? Watch Part I (available online until October 8).

Watch Part II (available until October 9).

Passing on the Gift in Puno, Peru

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Brooke Edwards

Editor’s note: The following story and photos are by Jessica Ford, Communications and Research Officer for Heifer Peru.

In my last post; I told you about my first visit with Heifer families in Peru. Thanks for coming back for the second part of the story. If you missed my first post, here is some background:

Heifer has relocated me from the headquarters in Little Rock, where I’m from, to their office in Lima, Peru, for one year as part of a pilot development program. This is the second of two posts about a one-day visit to my very first Heifer project in Peru. I had two reasons for visiting the project. The first was to visit some families there that Heifer is working with for the general monitoring and evaluating that comes with all Heifer projects (read about these families here). The other reason was to attend a Passing on the Gift ceremony.

Everything was ready and waiting for us at the community center. It took us just a few minutes to travel by truck to the center. Once we arrived, we were greeted by two long lines of men, women and children ready to receive their “special guests” for the big day. This blew my mind. Personally, as an employee of Heifer International, a Passing on the Gift ceremony is the pinnacle and trademark of Heifer’s work. Passing on the Gift is at the core of Heifer’s model being successful and sustainable. For any employee from a Heifer office to attend one of these is a huge honor and privilege. I was more honored to be there more than these people will ever understand.

The community members gave us big hugs and kisses and threw confetti all over us and up in the air. There was a band playing as we walked together through the rows of people and hugged and kissed and exchanged greetings like old friends.

We were seated under a tent, and the festivities began.

Much preparation and planning went into this event. You don’t just throw a Passing on the Gift Ceremony together! Hundreds of people were there – they all needed to be organized and fed, there was a Master of Ceremonies, invitations to guests went out well in advance, animals were running around everywhere, the program was well rehearsed. Needless to say, there were a lot of details. Many distinguished guests also joined us. Speeches were given by the leaders of the gathering to welcome all the guests and community members.

The community building.

The presence of so many, and such diverse local community officials and members exemplified the importance and impact Heifer Peru has here. It isn’t just the individual families Heifer supports and trains – Heifer encourages involvement at every possible level. It is critical. The entire area has a deep sense of ownership. It makes the projects, Pass-on ceremonies and new livelihoods less of a story about “what Heifer does to help people,” and more about how much this whole community does to help themselves and each other.

Women wait for the Passing on the Gift ceremony to begin.

Men wait on a bench for Passing on the Gift ceremony to begin.

A highlight of the ceremony was the dancing. Oh, the dancing! Four groups danced for us. The men, women and children both danced traditional dances, and they were beautiful. I was even dragged up to dance some. It was so much fun! I couldn’t breathe afterward, but I did my best.

Community members in a traditional dance line.

While all these plans, dances, speeches and food were important and special, they didn’t compare to the most important planning required of all – the actual Passing on the Gift. For this community that day, each family passed on a sack of potato seeds and one pig. (The seeds are especially important in Peru. Peru has more varieties of potatoes than any other country in the world. Each sack contained multiple varieties of seeds, which strengthens biodiversity and nutrition.) Months and months of strategic planning, cultivating and training went into this very moment. More than 50 families were anxiously waiting their turn to receive their animal and potato seeds. Passing on the Gift changes lives, and they knew it.

Passing on the Gift wasn’t important only for those receiving animals and seeds. The families doing the passing on were upholding a deep-rooted tradition, long held by the people of Peru called Ayni. In my words, Ayni is the ancient Andean concept of natural reciprocity. It is the understanding of the importance of nature and the world around us as being linked and in honoring the duality in everything. It is the principle that one must give and take in equal exchange with the surrounding environment. For all those involved in this Passing on the Gift ceremony, Ayni was a part of them and their community. They honored their ancestors and passed down a beautiful tradition. And Heifer, through our Passing on the Gift model, helped remind them of the importance of this tradition.

As the dancing and festivities led to the culmination of the day, potato seeds and pigs were brought out, and families began to line up.

Sacks of Peruvian potato seeds ready for Passing on the Gift ceremony.

Community members line up for Passing on the Gift ceremony.

Then the MC did the countdown: UNO, DOS, DOS y MEDIA, TRES! GO!

There are no words, pictures or videos for me to truly describe the transformation I felt in that very moment. The months of training and planning and preparation all came together right then. Lives were changed. People were changed – they were better and happier and had hope. They honored their ancestors. They honored each other and themselves. It wasn’t just an animal and a sack of potatoes, which alone can mean the difference between life and death. Somehow it was even more than that – I witnessed the process of personal transformation that Heifer empowers communities to ignite, which means the difference between hopelessness and hope.

A recipient of Passing on the Gift is the picture of life and hope.

Read other Passing on the Gift stories, and find out how you can help more small farmers by donating to a Heifer project in Peru.

Passing on the Gift of Rabbits in Southern Haiti

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Jason Woods

At the end of July, I traveled to Haiti to spend a couple of weeks visiting projects with Heifer Haiti staff. In the coming weeks, I will be sharing some of those experiences via the blog.

Anthonio Louis Fritznel at a Passing on the Gift ceremony in La Sucrerie Henry on July 31, 2012.

Anthonio Louis Fritznel has been blind since the age of 12. The doctor told Anthonio that he had glaucoma, but he wasn’t treated for it. Juliene, Anthonio’s wife, lost her sight when she was struck in the head with a rock that flew from the tire of a truck driving past on a nearby the road. The couple has six children, whose ages range from 12 to 22. One of the children is also blind after suffering from an unknown illness.

Despite these personal tragedies and the challenges they present, Anthonio persevered. And he wanted to help his community, La Sucrerie Henry (in St. Louis du Sud along Haiti’s southern coast), persevere as well.

“I began to see many problems (in the community), but I knew my eyes weren’t good,” said Anthonio. “So I formed a group to help me work in the community.”

That group, formed in 1990, is the Organization for the Future of Youth (the Haitian Creole acronym is OAJSH). Anthonio is the president. Eventually, OAJSH joined a group of local organizations called the Collective for Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection (COSDERSLS).

POG event in La Sucrerie Henry.

In 2010, Heifer Haiti began working with COSDERSLS to provide organization members with rabbits through the From the Ground Up project, and Anthonio and OAJSH were among those who received the animals.

As in all Heifer projects, recipients receive training on how to care for and manage the animals. In his family, Anthonio attends all the trainings and imparts the knowledge to his children, who then apply learned techniques related to health, hygiene, nutrition, habitat, etc.

Passing on the Gift of rabbits.

Obviously, one of the great benefits of raising rabbits is that they reproduce quickly, around 8-10 kits (babies) every 28 days. In the St. Louis du Sud area, that will boost a family’s income by about $50 a month. For context, families involved in agriculture in the area earn around $65 a month. So the addition of rabbits could nearly double a family’s income in St. Louis du Sud, which helps to alleviate some of the issues Anthonio saw when he founded OAJSH.

“The economic support (from the rabbits) is very quick in this project,” he said, “and it helps solve problems like paying for school (fees, for children and youth).”

Claudette Noiteur receiving rabbits.

Although Anthonio’s family isn’t, some families are also consuming the rabbits to improve their nutrition. And, from what I heard from those who are consuming the rabbits, they taste great.

On July 31, I had the opportunity to participate in a Passing on the Gift ceremony with Anthonio, OAJSH, other COSDERSLS members and Heifer Haiti staff in La Sucrerie Henry. Laughs and smiles came easy as representatives from Heifer and COSDERSLS addressed the group about the successes and challenges of the projects as well as the importance of Passing on the Gift. The president of COSDERSLS noted that no one present received any money for transportation, so everyone present must have a strong desire to be a part of the event. He concluded by saying, “I hope that everyone who receives a rabbit today (through POG) will do the same for someone else.”

After all of the opening remarks were made and prayers were said, 11 participants took turns giving a box of four rabbits to another COSDERSLS member. Each donor gave a short speech and expressed well wishes to the recipient before officially passing on the rabbits.

For me, it was a great privilege to join this group in their Passing on the Gift celebration, and it was only the first of many opportunities I would have to meet extraordinary individuals and families during my short time in Haiti.

World Humanitarian Day 2012 at Heifer International

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Brooke Edwards

Today is World Humanitarian Day, and in honor of today, we at Heifer International celebrate the ordinary and extraordinary works of humanitarianism being conducted by its project participants, supporters and employees every day. With a mission to end hunger and poverty while caring for the Earth, Heifer thrives on the humanitarian spirit that is awakened with our Pass On the Gift concept.

Passing on the Gift Makes Everyone a Humanitarian

On Humanitarian Day, the world honors individuals who have shared their time and resources, and even braved danger and adversity, to help their fellow human beings. Heifer enables the poor and hungry to become humanitarians themselves with our model that capitalizes on the ability of livestock to reproduce. Each project participant passes on the gift of its animal’s first-born female offspring, along with training, to another family in the community.

: Passing on the Gift ceremony in Nepal. Photo by Geoff Oliver Bugbee, courtesy of Heifer International.

Donating Through Heifer Makes YOU a Humanitarian

Heifer also allows people who enjoy material security to become part of the humanitarian process when they donate an animal from Heifer’s catalog, and allows them to spread the joy of humanitarian action further by giving an animal gift in someone else’s honor.

Tanzanian Participant Jailed for Helping Community

In addition to its many humanitarian projects designed to bring families into self-reliance, Heifer International has seen remarkable examples of participants and workers who risk their own wellbeing to bring prosperity to others. For example, fish farmer Nicholas Mwakabelele was jailed for a period in Tanzania over his efforts to create fish hatcheries for his community. He took special time to help a blind man, Wailso Nzalayaluma, to create his own fish pond so that he would no longer have to beg for food.

Nicholas Mwakabelele in front of his tilapia pond. Photo by Dave Anderson, courtesy of Heifer International.

Heifer Cambodia Director Persevered to Become Humanitarian Leader

Heifer Cambodia Country Director Keo Keang grew up under the Khmer Rouge regime, and her family struggled to send her to school without money for books, supplies and uniforms. She strived to become a leader and now works every day to bring basic resources to families, especially women, who are struggling to emerge from oppressive poverty.

Heifer Haiti Staff Aided Earthquake Victims

In the aftermath of the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake, Heifer employees who had seen damage to their own homes and families nonetheless worked tirelessly to help other distressed victims. As he worried about the fate of his missing sister, trapped under rubble for a week, Heifer employee Junior Lozama worked to aid other victims of the quake, thinking, “Maybe some stranger is helping my sister right now.”

It’s that spirit of generosity and common humanity that gives Heifer International hope that an end to hunger and poverty is truly possible. Heifer is proud to stand with the United Nations in its call for celebrants of World Humanitarian Day to help improve our world by doing something good for someone else.

What Makes You a Humanitarian?

Tell us in the comments section below.

A Happier Home in Cambodia

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Donna Stokes

Article and video by Chris Kenning, World Ark contributor

Bung Kriel, CAMBODIA—The son of subsistence rice farmers, Chom Thoun grew up in a thatched-roof home on stilts, in a childhood marked by war with the Khmer Rouge, illnesses from poor sanitation and months of hunger each year when the family’s small harvest ran out.

“Our family was very poor, sometimes we didn’t have rice to eat,” said Chom, speaking recently on a shaded bamboo bed under this home, tucked among the rice paddies of Svay Rieng, one of the country’s poorest provinces located near the Vietnamese border.

The fighting had ended by the time he entered his 30s, and he had started a family with five children. But as he hand-plowed the same rice paddies, life was still a daily struggle. Relying on rain-fed rice grown in poor soil on small plot, he did not having enough to feed his family through the year. He was often forced to leave his wife, Toeu, and children to work as a laborer in the city.

While the now 40-year-old farmer still lives in a home without electricity, running water or plumbing, his fortunes have improved significantly in recent years with the help of a Heifer International’s self-help group program that he entered in 2007.

Speaking through an interpreter a few weeks ago on a World Ark visit, Chom said Heifer provided a cow, vegetable seeds, fruit tree saplings and training on how to keep animals and crops healthier by adopting changes such as adding mosquito netting to an animal shelter.

He also joined Heifer’s self-help savings group made up of villagers contributing small amounts for low-interest loans. That allowed Chom to start new vegetables and sugar cane, which they sell at market. In addition to passing on the cow’s offspring to another family in need, Chom also earns money by treating sick animals in the village, a skill he learned through Heifer.

“My life before was hard,” he said. “My living conditions improved; I could buy a bike so my daughter could get to school.”

He said their annual income has more than doubled from $200 a year to $500 a year, allowing them build a new home out of wood with a tin roof. There’s now enough food all year round, because they were able to buy more land for rice. And, fish, eggs or fowl—once a rare treat—are now a nearly daily part of their diet. They even have a small TV powered by a car battery.

They’re just some of more than 8,800 vulnerable Cambodian families that Heifer has helped since 1999 in a country long battered by war and extreme poverty.

Heifer’s programs currently operate in 188 poor rural communities, where they aim to increase food security, incomes and well-being by providing help such as animals and seeds, farmer education, microfinance and a more recent effort to boost basic literacy and math skills.

In Bung Kriel village, home to about 86 families and located in a province known for its low-quality farmland, child malnutrition, illiteracy, distance to markets and health care, and legacy of heavy U.S. bombing in the 1970s, it’s been a huge help, village leaders said.

“It has helped (bring) change for many families,” said Sek Ouk, Bung Kriel’s 69-year-old village chief.

Look for more about Heifer Cambodia projects in upcoming issues of World Ark magazine.

Passing on the Gift: Magic

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Erin Snow