Sebastian Alvarado-Brizuela with one of the cows (named Frontina) that he received from Heifer
When Sebastian came home to find that his wife had left him and abandoned their four children he was shocked. He didn’t know what to do. Sebastian had been working at a dairy far from home, but his youngest son was only nine months old. He couldn’t leave them and go back to work.
The little money that Sebastian had saved quickly ran out. He had no money, no animals and no prospects. He eventually began to ask his neighbors for food. It was a humiliating experience. After three months Sebastian had lost all hope that things would get better.
What he didn’t know was that women in his community had requested that he be included in their project with Heifer International. Sebastian smiles when he thinks about what these women did for him. “The women of my community spoke up for me. They said, ‘He is both father and mother to his children.’”
Two months after being accepted into the group Sebastian received a cow, which he named Frontina. Heifer’s assistance came at just the right time. Sebastian had milk to give his young children and manure to grow vegetables so he could feed his family.
Now seven years later his family is thriving. “I now feel very proud. Before when I came home there was nothing here, but now we have everything. I am content,” Sebastian said.
Christian DeVries is interviewing project participants in Honduras on behalf of Heifer International. This is the first in a series of posts he will be sending from the field.
