The Heifer Global Village Experience
The realities of obtaining shelter, food, water and firewood. An existence in which nothing can be taken for granted.
Heifer’s Global Villages give participants an unforgettable walk in the shoes of another’s reality, through an experience of poverty, possibility and hope. In this powerful encounter, you will take a “journey” to a village representing one of the regions in which Heifer works – Central and Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia/South Pacific, or the Americas (Latin America and North America).
From day programs that introduce younger students to hunger through the celebration of other cultures to more intense programs that take participants through the daily struggles that impoverished people face every day, Heifer Global Village programs let people experience another person’s life.
In living the lives of others, you’ll find that something extraordinary happens. Your attitudes about individual action, community cooperation, and sustainable solutions for global hunger, poverty and the environment will be transformed. Your understanding of the world – and your place in it – will change forever.
Learn more by viewing a powerful documentary on the Global Gateway experience.here.
Each Learning Center and Heifer Global Village site sponsor offers some or all of the following programs. Contact the location nearest you to learn more about its specific programming.
Click here to view a graphic of Learning Center and Heifer Global Village locations.
Heifer Global Village Programs
101 - Cultural Connections – Four Hour Program; 4th-6th graders
Laughter, music, shouts of joy, celebrations of life, these are all significant parts of the daily lives of people helped by Heifer - lives filled with hope, love and dignity.
Cultural Connections is a sensory experience for younger children to celebrate the joy of the cultures in which Heifer works. While preparing and eating an authentic meal, participants enjoy the traditional clothing, music, games and housing of a country portrayed in the Heifer Global Village, such as Guatemala. Participants experience the rich cultures of the communities in which Heifer International works and see that, though others may be poor, they have a life similar to theirs – lives filled with dreams, traditions and celebrations for the good in their lives.
Offered at: Heifer Ranch, Overlook Farm and Howell Nature Center
Coming Soon to: Shepherd’s Spring (late Fall 2008) and Hidden Villa (Spring 2009)
201 – Global Explorers – Two Day/Two Night Program; 5th-6th graders
Want your students to learn how their choices affect people and places thousands of miles away? Let them pour their creative thinking into Heifer’s Global Explorers program. This high-energy multi-night program is packed with fun activities that examine serious and complicated world issues on a level that is not only understood by 5th and 6th graders but nurtures their desire to create significant change in the world.
The program begins by investigating several environmental issues that effect world hunger, the impact of our personal choices and Heifer’s work around the globe. Once the foundation of the causes of hunger and poverty has been laid, Global Explorers experience firsthand the obstacles the poor face everyday. In “family” teams, they work together to prepare a simple meal. To assist the team, a map guides them to potential supply areas throughout the Heifer Global Village and they use their previous learning to overcome challenges to receive their needed items. After all items have been collected, the “family” must prepare their meager meal, including building a cooking fire. That night they reflect on their experiences before returning to their lodge for the evening.
These activities are not lectures – they are experiential encounters that bring information from books and statistics to life and put them into context for the daily lives of 5th and 6th graders. The program engages and challenges your students, rewards them with knowledge and empowers them to make informed decisions that create a better world.
Offered at: Heifer Ranch
301 - Global Gateway – Overnight Program (around 24 hours); 6th grade-College Age
For many of the world’s people, cooking a meal is fairly simple. You take cooking tools out of the cabinet, fill pots with water from the sink, gather ingredients from the refrigerator and use a stove or microwave to cook the food. You can have a simple meal in 30 minutes or less. Many people give little thought to how the accessibility of these items affects their day to day life. But for many of the world’s poor, these conveniences are unavailable.
For one night, Global Gateway participants experience the daily struggles people in poverty face everyday to simply feed their family a meager meal. Participants are given little – just some rice, vegetables and eggs – and before they can eat, they must find a way to build a fire and cook their meal. The challenge continues on into the night as they sleep in simple housing, such as a mud Mozambique hut. By living the lessons of poverty first-hand, participants come to understand the complications surrounding hunger and poverty and see their connection in creating change that brings possibility and hope to millions around the world.
Offered at: Heifer Ranch, Overlook Farm and Howell Nature Center
Coming Soon to: Shepherd’s Spring (Spring 2009) and Hidden Villa (Summer 2009)
401 – Global Passport – 3-4 Nights; 9th - College Age
Life is full of surprising and overwhelming situations that are outside our control. Global Passport participants, in a safe simulation, will experience what it is like when someone in your community loses everything and they must rely on the generosity of their neighbors. Will the community come together and provide the needed relief?
After people’s immediate need for food, water and other necessities have been met, the need for relief work ends and development work begins. Heifer works to empower communities by supplying them with the means – including livestock, training and other resources – to strengthen their families, their communities and their hope for a sustainable future. In the full Global Passport program, all “families” are challenged to improve their circumstances by adopting a variety of methods Heifer uses in the field, including adding livestock, improved animal management and finding a unique market to sell goods.
Throughout the two-night and three-night programs, participants must provide for their “family” by tending gardens and livestock, working in the village community, buying supplies from the international market and cooking cultural meals using appropriate technology. Each night the family will come together and sleep in representative housing, such as Tibetan yurt.
Offered at: Heifer Ranch
Feed your mind. Take Action. End hunger.
| 
