Global Village Programs

Think about these things: 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 others’ realities, 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 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 groups experience others’ lives.

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.

101 - Cultural Connections
4 hour program; 4th-6th Grades

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 affect world hunger, the impact of our personal choices and Heifer’s work around the globe. Environmental topics include overcoming topographical issues, such as hillside farming, the effects of soil erosion, and how the lack of accessible clean water influences people’s daily activities. Throughout the program, personal choices will be examined in a hands-on way. Students participate in activities such as the food waste challenge, which encourages zero waste while demonstrating how the simple choice to throw away food has many consequences, like influencing supply and demand on multiple limited resources, such as oil.

Participants will experience the hope that Heifer brings, by researching the countries where Heifer works. They will learn the country’s location, the problems faced by the community and the solutions offered by Heifer, such as the gift of livestock, to these overwhelming obstacles.

Explorers will interact with several of the animals provided by Heifer to discover for themselves the benefits Heifer project partners receive from animals, such as milk, muscle and manure.

Once the foundation of the causes of hunger and poverty has been laid, Global Explorers experience firsthand the obstacles the poor face every day. 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.

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, every day, 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 firsthand, 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.

401 - Global Passport
3-4 Nights; 9th Grade to College

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 authentic meals using appropriate technology. Each night the family will come together and sleep in representative housing, such as a Tibetan yurt.