LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (June 25, 2012) – At a time when fewer children are reading fewer books, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Nobel and Gandhi Prize recipient and human rights activist from South Africa, has voiced his support for Heifer International’s Read to Feed® program in his home country.
Read to Feed fosters a love of reading in children while at the same time empowering them to raise funds to help Heifer International end hunger and poverty and protect the planet. Heifer International South Africa’s program helps raise awareness of the 12 million South African families that daily face food insecurity—don’t have access to safe, affordable, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.
“I strongly support the Read to Feed program,” said the retired archbishop. “Join me in helping our children learn, from a young age, both the joy of reading and the great honor of being part of changing the world for the better.”
Read to Feed is more than a reading program. It gives children the chance to change the world. By reading and collecting pledges for each book read, children contribute to Heifer International’s mission, in South Africa and elsewhere.
Heifer International South Africa is a legally separate entity—a partner with whom Heifer International contracts to assist in or carry out some part of its work to end hunger and poverty.
Active in South Africa since 1999, the Heifer South Africa partners with impoverished rural communities to help them become food secure and build small businesses. Through gifts of training and livestock, project members become small farmers with a sustainable income and regular access to healthy food.
In South Africa, the program has been successful in many schools such as Crawford Preparatory School in La Lucia, Scottsville Primary School in Pietermaritzburg, St. Mary’s Diocesan School for Girls in Kloof, and Bishops Preparatory School in Cape Town to name just a few.
Seventh-grader Daniel Stainforth, from Crawford Preparatory School, said, ‘‘I feel we can afford to help, but others can’t. No one really motivated me before to read books. But in this case, (knowing that I am helping others) has motivated me.”
About Heifer International:
Heifer’s mission is to end hunger and poverty while caring for the Earth. Since 1944, Heifer International has provided livestock and environmentally sound agricultural training to improve the lives of those who struggle daily for reliable sources of food and income. Heifer is currently working in 40 countries, including the United States, to help families and communities become more self-reliant. For more information, visit www.heifer.org or call (800) 696-1918.
