From the Field: Partnerships Create New Opportunities

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Chelsey McNiel

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

Those who partner with Heifer International are crucial to its mission. Without the help of faith communities, corporations, partners, and countless volunteers, the vision would not reach its full potential. Heifer knows partnerships create the needed strength to make a tangible and lasting difference.

In the Philippines, three development cooperatives conducted training for participants hit by Typhoon Bopha. The group learned about pig husbandry, dairy goats and feed mills. Participants said the workshop was fulfilling as they gained valuable lessons in a shorter period of time through hands-on learning. Trainings like these hope to engage communities and increase employment and income.

Women leaders from Ukraine take part in a study tour established through partnership with Women’s Information Consultative Center. Photo courtesy of Heifer Ukraine

Between October 2012 and February 2013, women leaders from all corners of Ukraine participated in study tours funded by Heifer Ukraine and the Women’s Information Consultative Center. The trainings aimed to solve problems such as high unemployment, domestic violence and lack of medical care. These practical and educational trainings encouraged participants to develop their own projects and receive mini-grants, which help boost self-confidence and active determination.

In partnership with Syngenta Foundation and UAP insurance, Heifer’s East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) project participants received help to hedge their businesses against common risks. A newly introduced livestock insurance plan will help farmers to prevent disease and malnutrition and insure them against loss at a low monthly cost. The included care package also aims to reduce annual mortality rates. In addition, a call center is available to farmers, which will dispatch a veterinarian to confirm a cause of death so the cow can be replaced.

Insured dairy cows will protect farmers against the risk of losing their livelihoods to common cattle diseases. Photo courtesy of Heifer East Africa

Insured dairy cows will protect EADD farmers against the risk of losing their livelihoods to common cattle diseases. Photo courtesy of Heifer East Africa

Learn how you can get involved and make a world of difference

International Women’s Day: Be Part of the Solution

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Chelsey McNiel

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.

International Women's Day - empowering women

Dang Hong Thuy, 47, and her daughter Nguyen Thi Yen Nhi, 17, hold a gosling near their home in Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

Gender equity is central to Heifer’s success in eliminating hunger and poverty while caring for the earth. A family can more easily lift itself out of poverty when men and women learn to share and respect their roles and responsibilities. That’s why Heifer directly confronts gender equity in its 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development.

While women own less than one percent of the land in developing countries, they are responsible for producing 80 percent of the food. Heifer empowers women worldwide by investing in their families’ health, education, and nutrition.

International Women's Day - education of girls

Lidia Ingabire, age 8, of Rwanda, shows her mother Arodia Uwimbabazi, 32, what she’s done at school. Photo courtesy of Heifer International

Women are also more likely to pass on the gift of their education and success to their families. Heifer encourages girls to study math and science, and also supports female entrepreneurs. Training and workshops such as animal health, holistic community development, and fiber spinning ensure participants learn skills to build a solid foundation and become self-sufficient. Through Heifer’s work, women also collaborate to establish better communities and afford decent education for their children.

Heifer believes every woman has something to contribute to their families and communities, especially if they have been excluded or undervalued within the culture. The opinions and full participation from women leaders is a vehicle of change, which also fosters helpful interaction between neighbors.

Success stories like the Promotion and Protection of Women’s Rights and Socio-Economic Empowerment project in Cambodia, will continue to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Around the world, Heifer is working to end hunger and poverty and care for the earth. A charitable gift to Heifer not only provides livestock and training, it gives hope and dignity to women as they improve their lives.

Be part of the solution with Heifer on International Women’s Day

Empowering Women to… Empower Women

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Bill Fitzgerald

Women are on the rise in Rwanda. The country’s constitution requires that 30% of its parliament be women, and Odette Uwamariya, governor of the Eastern Province of Rwanda says women now make up more than half the parliament. “Fifty-six point two percent,” Charles Kayumba, Heifer’s Rwanda country director, clarifies. Even better.

Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

This beautiful country, once so torn by civil war and later genocide, now knows almost no crime. Economic growth is at about 7%. Is it all due to women? Clearly, there are many factors at work here. But it’s significant that the genocide left the country 70% female. Women virtually had no choice but to step up to the work of re-building a nation.

Even with the development so evident in the capital city of Kigali, hunger and malnutrition are still the biggest problems in the provinces. Heifer has helped more than 40,000 families feed themselves and earn a living, most of them female-headed. The government of Rwanda has taken notice and started a program modeled on Heifer’s. The families who receive cows from the government are required to pass on the gift of the cow’s offspring to someone else in the community. Sound familiar? In many areas of the country, the government has turned to the experts– asking Heifer to oversee the program.

: Odette Uwamariya. Photo courtesy of Heifer International

“I want to acknowledge and recognize Heifer International for the good work they are doing here, and Dr. Kayumba for managing this program,” said Madame Uwamariya at our recent meeting in Rwamagana, the seat of the Eastern Province. Particularly among those affected by HIV, “we have seen tremendous changes after working with Heifer in terms of nutrition and income levels in the community,” Uwumariya reported.

A case in point is Nyirafaranga Liberathe, who lives in Rwinkavu Sector, Kayonza District. She is HIV positive, lost her husband during the genocide and now cares for three children and two grandchildren. When she first began taking medication for HIV in 2005, her antibody count (the bodies that fight infection) was around 96. Medication brought the number up to about 300. Since she began working with a Heifer goat project in 2010, she has been drinking goat’s milk regularly and eating more and better vegetables from her garden. Her antibody count now is at 926.

Nyirafaranga Liberathe with grandchildren. Photo courtesy of Heifer International.

The transformation Liberathe has undergone is not just physical, though. Before she began working with Heifer, she felt separated from her community, guilty even. She kept her condition to herself. She lived in fear of poverty, of having nothing. Now, she says, “I feel stronger and am accepted by the community. I have food, I’m fine.” She realizes she now has hope, and a future. “I have helped another family [through POG], I am free from debt, I feel excitement and am happy to be able to assist someone else in need.”

Just as Liberathe has undergone a transformation, so has Rwanda, helped along by strong women… and Heifer International. You can see it in the landscape, in the city, in the countryside, and especially in the eyes of the Heifer project participants. Empowering women through development may not solve all the world’s problems, but after visiting Rwanda, it’s interesting to wonder just what might happen if more women in more places were given more tools and training. Imagine the transformation…

Make a difference by starting a women’s group today.

Double Your Impact In Guatemala

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Kim Nixon

Double your impact on hunger now! Thanks to a generous benefactor and international partners, your donation to Heifer International will be matched dollar-for-dollar during March to support food security, better nutrition and women’s empowerment in Guatemala.

Double your impact for people like Virginia Jimenez Mateo, who knows firsthand how women living in rural areas can become isolated and marginalized. She lives in the remote village of Laguna Verde, Guatemala, with her husband Mauricio and their seven sons.

Photo by Russell Powell, courtesy of Heifer International

Before joining a Heifer project in 2007, Virginia seldom left her house since women do most of the farm labor and household chores. She rarely had the opportunity to get to know other women in her community apart from church activities. “The only time I left my house was to go to church and back,” she said.

Virginia primarily prepared beans, steamed broccoli or carrots for meals. They had to buy eggs from their neighbors and could only afford meat twice a month. She recalls that 14-year-old Mario had stomach problems.

Since joining the project, she has received training along with 10 chickens in 2007 and a goat in 2011. She especially likes Passing on the Gift®. “It would be hard for me to save enough money to repay a goat, but when mine (kid born on February 14, 2012) is big enough I can pass it on,” she said, having already passed on the gift of chickens in 2008.

Heifer’s training improved life in the community. Training provided opportunities for the local women to get to know each other. “No one can take away the knowledge we received,” she said. Thanks to the gender training, the men have started participating. With more help around the house, Virginia’s family started to thrive.

“Part of the training was teaching my children than they can do anything a woman can do,” Virginia said.
Photo by Russell Powell, courtesy of Heifer International

The biggest benefit for her family, Virginia said, was their improved diet and nutrition. They raise their own chickens, so they no longer have to buy eggs and can now afford to buy meat once a week. “Now we have more variety,” she said. She noticed that they aren’t as sick as before. She credits drinking goat’s milk for her improved health and less aches in her joints.

Better nutrition means her sons have more energy to focus on their school work. Miguel, age 19, and Carlos, age 16, received scholarships to attend a Catholic school. “The knowledge and ethics they are receiving are important,” she said.

This kind of impact happens every day in Heifer projects. Stretch your dollar this month and double your impact to help provide the training and livestock needed by families like Virginia’s to help put more food on the table.

To maximize this match, we need to raise at least $831,000 from generous supporters like you.

Click here to donate.

Half the Sky Facebook Game Features Heifer and Inspires Action

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Casey Neese

When you think of games people play on Facebook, the first one that might come to mind is FarmVille. But today marks the official launch of a new game that hopes to build on the success of such social games to raise awareness of the difficult issues that face women in the developing world.

Half the Sky Movement: The Game is inspired by the book “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide” by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn and a companion PBS television series. Kristof and WuDunn have made it their mission to offer a window into the lives of women who face the threat of malnutrition, oppression and disease each day.

The book and TV series attracted attention from people who already care about women’s issues, Kristoff told Fast Company, which hosted a roundtable discussion to coincide with today’s launch. But the Facebook game is intended to reach all the people who may not know about the problems women face worldwide. “It potentially offers a way of luring people — a gateway drug, if you will, to women’s empowerment,” he says.

This game seems poised to do just that, and it also has the potential to generate support for seven NGO partners — including Heifer International — that are featured prominently in the game. There is a natural link between the scenarios presented in the game and organizations like Heifer that work to improve the lives of women and girls worldwide. At many points throughout the game, users can learn more about Heifer, share info about the organization through their own Facebook profile and even make a donation.

When I played the game, I was introduced to Radhika, “a simple woman from India who wants to make things better … for both herself and women worldwide.” The game is a series of quests, and my first quest was to help Radhika get her young daughter to a clinic to receive treatment for a serious illness. I faced a number of decisions, and I had to reason with a reluctant husband, pick and sell mangoes, haggle with a taxi company, and decide how to pay for an immunization.

When all was said and done, Radhika’s daughter was saved, and I was hooked. This game let me walk in Radhika’s shoes in a way that’s simply not possible through reading statistics. It’s safe to say that games like this represent a powerful new medium for telling some of the world’s most important stories.

To begin playing, visit the Half the Sky Movement: The Game Facebook page. Even if you’re not able to make a monetary donation to Heifer’s work, you can still help by playing. The game’s sponsors have pledged a total of $500,000 for players to unlock through a number of in-game projects.

This game was produced by Games for Change — an organization whose mission is catalyzing social impact through digital games. I had the chance to sit down with Asi Burak and Emily Treat of Games for Change last year when they came to our offices to conduct a digital games workshop, and you can read that interview here.

Clinton: Value Women the Same as Men

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Annie Bergman

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.

Reaping the Fruits of Hard Work

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Heifer Philippines

A Heifer International project participant works at a food cooperative in the Philippines

Jane Lutong at work at the Barangay Food Terminal in the Philippines

Story by Jun Dom-oguen and Marifee A. Lucaney; Photos by Jun Dom-oguen

Over the past three months, Jane Lutong began to reap the fruits of her hard work and has gained empowerment through participation in Heifer International’s project in Bauko and Sabangan, Philippines. Barely 10 months after receiving gifts from Heifer — including a gilt (a young female pig) — Jane was able to sell eight of the pig’s offspring.

“I am lucky with the gilt I received because it costs more than the project budget per gilt, I added one thousand pesos to be able to get the gilt, which was really big and matured. True enough, just after the original placement celebration, the gilt already was in heat so I mated her immediately. She gave birth after four months and I fattened all the piglets,” Jane says. “I sold eight of them which gave me a gross sale of [US $1,364] I still have one left in preparation for my pass on. I am again taking care of three piglets, which my mother pig gave me for the second time.”

Jane is a very active self-help group member, and she is very proud to say that she has perfect attendance at all the group’s activities.

“I strongly believe that the success of the cooperative is due to the fact that they are living most of the cornerstones we learned from our project. These include full participation, accountability, sharing and caring, genuine need and justice, training and education and spirituality,” she says. “There is also good leadership and all are committed to the cooperative vision. We have started with good foundations, which are Heifer’s Cornerstones.”

Jane is also a very active member of the Maggon Rural Improvement Club (RIC) in Maggon, her community. As a demonstration of her personal development, she was selected to represent Maggon to the National Organic Agriculture Congress in Baguio City in June. “I can’t believe that I was able to present the result of our earthworm composting project during the Congress to the Secretary of Agriculture of the Philippines. I was trembling at first but my self confidence really grew, thanks to our Heifer project, which honed my skills in public speaking. Who would have thought that a sixth grader in me could speak in public and teach others about a technical subject?” Jane said proudly with a big smile.

Jane used part of the proceeds from the sale of her pigs to renovate an old house inherited from her parents. As if the universe conspired to bring her luck, their Rural Improvement Club (RIC) project (called Barangay Food Terminal) was approved. She leased the renovated house to RIC for a very minimal amount. At the same time, Jane became the sales clerk of the terminal.

“I accepted the offer because I can still take care of my pigs while doing the job. I also practice what I learned from the recording and book keeping training I attended sponsored by Heifer International,” Jane says. “I will only get 30% of the net income of the store, but it will help our self help groups as it will also serve as an outlet for our products — especially vegetables.”

Jane enthusiastically took on more duties, leading the monitoring of families and livestock to update information for each pass on. She reported that 20 families were ready to pass on in September based on the sizes of livestock offspring. “I will be happy if all the members of this project will be able to pass on gifts by November. The earlier the better so that other families will have the opportunity to receive gifts. It will also be an honor for our community if we pass on early,” Jane says.

Since Jane is also a member of the feed formulation group, she had the opportunity for a co-learning visit to the Sun Jin Feeds Milling factory in Bulacan. “My goal was to learn more about feed formulation, taking into consideration that Sun Jin feeds are better. True enough, I was able to see the processes of feed formulation from preparation to packaging. I was able to validate the facts we learned – that quality ingredients give quality feeds, and in formulating grower feeds, it is very important that crude protein should be 18% because if is less or more, pig growth will be affected. I think we are now really ready to formulate our own feeds.”

With several months to go before project completion, Jane continuously demonstrates the levels of impact Heifer wishes to see from the partner families. From a reserved mother, she is now gaining the respect of her fellow partner families as she is empowered to lead others by example and hone her skills and develop leadership capabilities, not only for her benefit, but in service of the community.

Editor’s note: This post is part of a series that follows the progress of specific families, starting at the beginning of their work with Heifer. You can read the first post about Jane Lutong and her family here.

Jane’s newly renovated house which is now a Barangay Food Terminal.

Jane feeding her new fatteners (second generation offspring of her pig)

Half the Sky is Coming Soon

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Brooke Edwards

Filmed in 10 countries around the world, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide follows Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn as they tell the stories of women making changes in their own lives and communities. Watch the trailer:

You can watch Half the Sky in two parts on PBS October 1st and 2nd. To host your own salon or group discussion after viewing, go here for materials. If you’re on Twitter, share your thoughts and support by using #halfthesky.

Beyond Hunger Event Celebrates Women’s Empowerment

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Pierre Ferrari

I am in California where this evening I will be a part of Beyond Hunger: A Place at the Table. This event is an extraordinary opportunity to honor Mary Steenburgen and Ted Danson for their awesome dedication to Heifer International, and to raise awareness of the ongoing need to empower women.

Because I feel so strongly about the importance of providing opportunities to women, many of my blogs feature this topic. I wrote that Investment in Women Farmers IS Priority for Heifer; but at Heifer, we don’t just say it is important, our actions demonstrate our commitment.

In August, Heifer CEO, Pierre Ferrari met with a women's self-help group in Nepal.

Gender and Family Focus is one of Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones and empowerment for women is an integral component of our projects. Gender equity (the notion that women, men, girls and boys are valued equally and have the same opportunities to achieve their potential) is an important, key element of our programmatic work. Heifer has developed a two-part strategic approach: mainstreaming and understanding the cultural aspects that prevent gender equity. Mainstreaming ensures that women’s (and men’s) concerns, priorities and experiences are an integral part of the entire project cycle: the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the project. Through training, Heifer is able to address the cultural systems, procedures, norms, beliefs, practices and attitudes that perpetuate gender inequality. These approaches allow for bridging the existing gaps between women and men.

Heifer CEO, Pierre Ferrari, was present in Cambodia when several women participating in Heifer projects received certificates for completing their training.

I recently returned from a visit to India, Nepal and Cambodia; and for the first time, I met women who were in the beginning stages of Heifer projects. These women were shy, and their husbands dominated the conversations. They were such a contrast to other women whose stories I have previously shared, such as Dolores Delgado from Peru or the Women’s Group Coordination Committee (WGCC) in Nepal. But I know that this contrast will not last, and these timid women will become transformed after they complete their Cornerstones and Values Based Holistic Development trainings.

It’s unbelievable that even though women make up more than half the total number of small farmers in the world, produce between 60 and 80 percent of the food in most developing countries, they still struggle for access to basic resources and services. Gender equity should be the norm; with your help Heifer will continue to work toward making that a reality.

So tonight, as we celebrate the stories of hope and inspiration and reflect on the work that is yet to be done, we recognize that together, we can change the world. And, even if you will not be able to attend this event, I ask that you join us in this pledge for the future to help empower women to achieve their dreams of life without hunger and poverty.

Improved Stoves Empower Women

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Madeline Munoz

Cooking smoke kills women

In many societies, women are in charge of cooking. Day after day, and often throughout their lives, women spend many hours in the kitchen, often near a fire. Smoke, which deposits soot in the lungs, is responsible for 511,000 of the 1.3 million annual deaths of women caused by obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) around the world.

Improved stoves bring many benefits

A mother and daughter using their improved stove in Peru (photo by Darcy Kiefel)

Building improved stoves in rural areas decreases the need for firewood and reduces pollution caused by smoke fumes. This has been proven to improve the health of women, prevent respiratory diseases and reduce deforestation. Additionally, the World Health Organization has developed an interesting analysis on the contribution of this technology toward the Millennium Development Goal of “promoting equality between the sexes and the empowerment of women.” Similarly, at Heifer Peru we asked the question: “In Heifer Peru’s work, how has the strategy of building improved stoves improved gender relations and women’s empowerment?”

Heifer Peru has been working in field of improved stoves for more than 15 years. In 2008, a study was conducted to examine the impact of using improved stoves in our projects. A “Systemization of Experiences” was developed to document Heifer Peru’s extensive experience in various regions and in various contexts throughout the country.

Women must be the decision makers

At first, field visits revealed that very sophisticated and perfectly built kitchens in Heifer Projects were simply not being used. In households where the improved stoves were being used, it became clear that those households were where the women were originally consulted prior to constructing the new stoves. They were consulted throughout the entire process: Did they want a new kitchen? Where did they want it built? Were they willing to attend training to understand stove handling and maintenance? Involving the women from start to finish was a key aspect to the success of the project. The women felt valued to know that their voice and decision had been taken into account. For Heifer Peru, this helped confirm a key component: the active participation of women in decision-making.

Improved stoves give women more time outside the kitchen

Given the gender perspective, it was initially discussed and assumed that the presence of improved stoves would reinforce the unique role of women in the home and make the women more comfortable in their own kitchen. In the testimonies we captured, many women noted the value that the improved stove brought for them was that they were more comfortable in their kitchen, and that they could cook more quickly and more efficiently, which freed the women up for other activities in the home and for themselves. The latter point was noted as being most significant: The women had more time for themselves. It allowed them to have more time to leave their home and participate in life – community and family activities. This last was an indirect effect and revealed that the new stoves addressed a strategic necessity for many women: their own time management.

Petronila Valdez and her daughter in their improved kitchen in Morropon, Piura.

The third aspect analyzed was the approach of the technical field work. Having to construct the new and improved stoves meant that field technicians had to enter the homes of the women to determine dimensions and to build the stoves. Entering the home, a private space, for an extended period of time to construct the stoves offered the technician the opportunity to understand the sensitivities around gender and observe the real behaviors and exercises of power that occurred in the local rural households. The technicians had to understand the complexity of gender relations within these rural families. This approach facilitated the technicians and families learning from each other. After multiple visits and exchanges, the women’s behavior and activities began to slowly change. The women became more involved in project activities but also went through personal change, the family dynamics began to change and the women became more involved in social roles. This meant that the women were not just passive recipients, but active agents of change. This dynamic resulted in women and their homes serving a public role in the community.

Using these reflections, we can recognize the relationship between improved stoves and women’s empowerment. Strategies and processes for women’s empowerment are not framed in a single space, or with a single player. In this case, it involved not only women, but also other members in the home, and even the technical officer and the organization. The kitchen ceased to be perceived as the sole domain of women and became a place for family decision-making and empowerment. Empowerment was one of the indirect results, though. Over time, there was a steady improvement of gender relations at home. This allowed women to actively participate in the community and receive education and training on issues of leadership, citizenship and organizational development, all of which provided them a new level of empowerment beyond the domestic sphere.

With all these reflections, we are reminded of the real dimension of Heifer’s and Heifer Peru’s work. Stoves were improved for better food and health, but the stoves were also used to develop our strategy to improve gender relations, family power dynamics and the position of women to facilitate their active participation in family and communal decision making.

Improved stoves must be incorporated into healthy home and healthy family strategies

There were areas where the presence of new, improved stoves did not have the same impact – mostly where women were not part of the decision making and design. It was often the case that when the men of the community were the primary participants involved in the project, arguing that success for the project was the actual construction of the stoves, the masonry work, and the number of stoves built without seeing the profound impact that the stove’s footprint could have in changing attitudes and family values, especially for women. From this we were convinced that to achieve the most effective impact, the strategy of using improved stoves should be integrated into a larger strategy of healthy housing. This would create improvements in the rest of their home environment (cleanliness and order) but above all, the improved gender relations within the home and among the family fosters a healthy family.

Heifer invests in women

It is important to recognize that gender equity is embedded in every activity and component of our work, and its presence will typically determine the success of a project. Initially, with the improved stoves projects, we did not have the explicit intention of generating changes in the lives of women. We must continue to seek to alleviate the heavy workload of women in the home and consider how much better off we and the women are when they are fully participating, fully informed and recognize their capacity to decide, enabling the development of further participation for them outside the home.

Heifer Blog

The official blog of Heifer International

Tag Archives: Women’s Empowerment