CORNERSTONE: GENDER AND FAMILY FOCUS
HOW IT WORKS:
In Heifer's work, gender equity is central to success. Men and women must work side by side in equally respected roles and responsibilities for a family to lift itself out of poverty, which is why Heifer confronts issues of patriarchy and inequality head on. Also, women are more likely to share the fruits of their education and success with their families.
IN ACTION:
Encourage girls to study math and science, and support female entrepreneurs. Raise your sons to treat women as equals, and make sure you advocate education for both genders equally. Parents, teach your boys how to cook and teach your girls how to wield a hammer.
Meeting the Children of Heifer Nepal
Nepal
I see children everywhere at Passing on the Gift® events, door-to-door visits, hanging around their mothers and marching in rallies alongside women. These children are growing up around strong, independent women who have a voice and opinions to bring change in their community.
Family 'Mooooved to Action'
We named our cause “Mooooved to Action” and our goal was to raise enough money by selling our homemade jewelry to purchase a milk cow for a family that needs help through Heifer International. Our kids could hardly wait to purchase the cow and worked for about three months on their goal.
Once a Recipient, Now a Donor
Nepal
I received two goats from Heifer International and applied the knowledge I acquired during Improved Animal Management training while raising them. After receiving the animals I have passed on two goats. My small effort has helped my family have a better life. I hope other women will be able to achieve bigger success by working harder.
Aol Josphine, Gulu Women Dairy Farmers Project
Uganda
Aol Josphine in Acet Central village, Uganda. She is a participant in Heifer International's Gulu Women Dairy Farmers project. See more photos.
International Women’s Day: Be Part of the Solution
Empowering women is at the core of Heifer International’s model for sustainable development. In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, this week we are sharing stories of the women with whom Heifer works, who take the gifts of livestock and education to produce extraordinary results for themselves, their families and their communities.
Study Tours Help Educate Ukraine Rural Women
Ukraine
Women leaders from all corners of Ukraine participated in study tours between October 2012 and February 2013. Funded by Heifer Ukraine and the Women's Information Consultative Center, the trainings aimed to solve problems such as high unemployment, domestic violence and lack of medical care.
An Amazing Woman
Vietnam
Following the small concrete path, we were surprised to find a lively painted thatched house peacefully surrounded by green paddyfield, pig pen, hen house and garden of flowers.
Heifer’s Trainings Continue to Serve Nine Years Later
Tanzania
After our descent from Kilimanjaro with the group of Elanco employees who are Heifer International supporters, I had the opportunity to visit the Kitomary family in Tanzania.
Women Taking the Floor
Senegal
The seating arrangement at a Heifer training session in Fandene on a hot May day in 2010 was fairly typical for this rural region of a strongly Muslim country: men in the front, women in the back.
Disaster Reduction and Gender in the Philippines
Philippines
The rural poor suffer greatly from disasters of all kinds every year.
Social Justice in Philippines
Philippines
Social Justice is personified by a husband in the Philippines who, after attending trainings on Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development, values his wife’s work and begins helping provide for his family.
This is what Social Justice Looks Like
Nicaragua
Social Justice is girls in Nicaragua, where 32 percent of girls over 15 are illiterate, attending school because their families don’t need them to stay home and work.
Livestock Can Help End Hunger and Poverty
Nepal
...livestock are at the very core of much of how Heifer works with families...
Women’s Empowerment is Key to Turning Oppression Into Opportunity
Nepal
At Heifer International we believe there is no development strategy more beneficial to society than the one that involves women as central players, and at the same time engages men to encourage a more accepting view of women’s participation.
For the Love of Dad
Mexico
A sweet moment is shared between this father and daughter, members of Heifer’s Amarantando: Productive and Nutritional Diversification in Oaxaca project in southwestern Mexico.
International Day of the Girl Child: Little Soldier Girl
Malawi
October 11th is the United Nations International Day of the Girl Child, a time to recognize the challenges girls in many developing countries face and to find ways to help them reach their potential.
Technology, Partnerships and Women Will Advance African Dairy Industry
Kenya
Elizabeth Bintliff, Vice President for Heifer’s Africa Program, presented a keynote address at the April 2012 8th African Dairy Conference and Exhibition held by the East and Southern Africa Dairy Association.
Heifer Works with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Double Farmer Income
Kenya
One of Heifer International’s biggest projects is EADD – the East Africa Dairy Development project.
Heifer India Leads Rukkhi to a Better Life
India
“In the last six months, the biggest change has been that from a thatched house. I have been able to build a concrete house.” —Rukkhi Devi
Heifer's Long-term Approach to Natural Disasters
Haiti
In late October, Hurricane Sandy barreled through the Caribbean Sea and up the eastern seaboard leaving a path of destruction.
REACH: Rural Entrepreneurs for Agricultural Cooperation in Haiti
Haiti
The future of Haiti begins in its soil but will come to fruition only in the marketplaces of the Caribbean, Central and South America and beyond.
Making Tortillas in Guatemala
Guatemala
Mrs. Francisca Najera Vasquez lives in the tiny village of El Duraznito, Guatemala with her husband and 7 children, and has a lot of experience making tortillas.