All Donations Matched
Life for young Deepmala was hard.
Her mother worked tirelessly on their goat farm in India’s impoverished Bihar State. But despite her best efforts, she never made enough money to support the family. She even had to borrow from a money lender to buy her family food.
But everything changed when you entered her life as a Friend of Heifer.
Thanks to your generous support, Deepmala’s family received the hand-up they needed to escape hunger and poverty for good.
Through a local Heifer self-help group, they gained the knowledge and tools to improve their goat farm and transform it into a thriving business.
You are helping transform lives across India — especially through projects like the Bihar Sustainable Livelihood Development Project, which is helping 70,000 families boost their incomes and improve their nutrition.
At the same time, you’re opening the doors of opportunity for Deepmala and other girls: While Bihar State is home to some of the world’s oldest universities, the literacy rate for women in this region is one of the lowest in the country at just over 50%.
When Deepmala’s mother was a girl, the idea of getting an education never crossed her mind. How could she go to school when she had to care for six younger siblings? Some of them were able to attend, but only until the third or fourth grade. What’s more, they never tried to teach her what they had learned.
“Even if they showed me,” her mother remembers, “I could not figure out what they were trying to tell me. I was totally unaware of what they were doing.”
Bihar also has the highest rate of child marriage in India, at 40%. So because Deepmala’s mother was raised in a family with many children and few resources, her parents arranged for her to marry when she was barely a teen.
Deepmala could have been resigned to this fate if not for the help you’ve provided on the path to her and her family becoming successful farmers through Heifer’s Bihar project.
This development changed everything for Deepmala and her family: Their goats became healthier because of Heifer’s hygiene and vaccination training, which completely transformed how they reared the animals. Additionally, Deepmala and her family have learned how to grow vegetables — including peas, coriander, pumpkins, wheat and rice — providing nutritious crops to eat and sell for even more income.
With their earnings, the family can now afford to buy healthy food and increase their goat herd, creating a virtuous and upward cycle of prosperity and stability in their lives.
They’re also leasing land to grow wheat and grain using Heifer-taught modern techniques and Heifer-provided specialized planting equipment. Through this and their self-help group, Deepmala and her family can continue to build their business and improve their quality of life.
In addition, your support has provided training on the importance of gender equity — that boys and girls need equal opportunities.
Deepmala’s mother stresses, “Whatever I was giving to my son, the same thing also has to be given to the daughter because both are equal.” This means Deepmala, who is in the sixth grade, receives the same academic opportunities as her older brother.
When Deepmala’s not at school or studying, she helps with the goats, including caring for them when they’re sick. She even bought a jacket and hat for her favorite, a little white kid she named Chorti, so it wouldn’t be cold.
Thanks to you, Deepmala has big plans for her future. She dreams of going to college and becoming a veterinarian. It’s a dream her mother supports with all her heart. Something that would have been impossible if not for Heifer and your generous commitment to making the world a better place.
Deepmala’s mother declares, “Heifer has given a torchlight for us. It has brought light into our lives. Darkness has gone with the light the Heifer project has brought.”
Thank you for bringing this light into the lives of Deepmala, her family and so many more around the world. Your reliable support as a Friend of Heifer makes brighter days possible for countless hardworking families.
