Growing Seeds, Animals and Relationships

By Jill Bayles

The livestock and training you provide through Heifer do so much more than put food on a family's table. Take the case of young Henri Dominique Carroll of Tallulah, La.

Henri Dominique suffered from a speech impediment for years. But when he began caring for his Heifer calf and talking to it, things began to change.

"Today I can understand everything he says," Henri Dominique's father, Henry said. "This [training] project and his Heifer International animal have helped Henri's speech and brought out the best he can be."

And Heifer's projects around the United States and the world impact children in other ways as well. At-risk students from the Sidney Lanier Anchor School in Gainesville, Florida, are tending their own gardens and learning how to organically grow lettuce, strawberries and fresh vegetables. They share their harvest with friends, families and local farmers; and they've developed a micro-enterprise to sell produce, jams, jellies and preserves at local farmers' markets.

"I think more about vegetables now and about all the hard work, sweat and hours and hours of labor it takes to put food on our plates," said 14-year-old Elizabeth Wilson; while 15-year-old Cedric Barton added that "It makes me proud that someone is taking my food home to save their children."

Young or old, people are reconnecting to the land through Heifer's North American projects - and the result is high quality food, well-tended animals, healthy soils and stronger bonds between neighbors.

Through Heifer's North America Program:

• Low-wealth farmers are finding new agricultural opportunities and are given the resources to try them out.
• Young people with a passion for farming participate in extensive learning and receive living loans to lead them toward their goals.
• Inner-city youth discover micro-enterprise through food-producing projects.
• Farmers' markets are established and local farmers are reconnected with local consumers.
• Indigenous cultures are reawakened to their agricultural heritage.
• Food-insecure neighborhoods in decaying downtown areas blossom with community gardens. New immigrants who are seeking to start farms in a new land find the guidance and support they need.

Perhaps Arthur Neal, a member of the Delta Livestock Enterprise in Tallulah, put it best:

"Heifer International has greatly helped me and, when the time came - through Passing on the Gift — I have helped others. From Heifer's training and the sale of our additional calves, I've been able to put food on my table, send my children to college and learn how to manage my finances better."

And the bottom line? "Heifer really understands small local farmers," he said.

You can help America's farmers and at-risk youth right now — just visit our catalog to make a donation.

Jill Bayles is the Internet Content Coordinator at Heifer International.