Our Initiatives - Young People

Heifer International’s Young People’s Initiative (YPI) is an initiative aiming at empowering young people with skills, tools, opportunities and involving them to affect positive change in their lives, communities and the world at large. 

YPI brings focus to the needs and roles of young people in addressing our mission of ending hunger and poverty while caring for the earth. 

Recognizing that young people are affected by poverty and hunger in different ways than their adult counterparts, Heifer has taken steps to raise awareness among the public and to address the challenges facing young people in the areas we work. 

These challenges include, but not limited to, the following: poverty, hunger, child labor, sex trafficking, orphans, HIV/AIDS, and war/conflict. The Gender and Family Focus Cornerstone also brings focus to young people. 

The inclusiveness of boys and girls within our work is a key component and value which allows equity –regardless of age- to be addressed in ending hunger and caring for the earth. Heifer recognizes that without the insight, full participation and ownership from young people our efforts to build socially, economically and environmentally just communities will never truly be sustainable.