From the Field: Making Modest Dreams Come True

By Erin Snow

October 3, 2019

Last Updated: February 19, 2013

Jennifer Moyo with her chickens in Zimbabwe.
Jennifer Moyo with her chickens in Zimbabwe.

This weekly post shines a light on a handful of stories from Heifer.org's "From the Field" section.

Heifer International is in the business of ending hunger and poverty and caring for the Earth. The dreams that come true for so many families as a result of this work are a pleasant and quite natural byproduct. The dreams of our project participants, considered modest by many, include things like running water, sending children to school, having decent shelter and enough to eat. Opportunities provided by Heifer combine with determination of families around the world to make modest dreams come true every day.

Jennifer Moyo raises chickens in the Makhulela ward of Zimbabwe, a business she got into when she joined Heifer's Hope for the San People project. She works hard to improve her livestock's housing and helps her neighbors with their livestock, thanks to her training as a Community Animal Health Worker. The money Jennifer earns with her small farm allows her to buy basic necessities for her family and send her children to school.

For farmers in China's mountainous Mingle village, running water is a challenge. The local government attempted to assist with a large irrigation project, but all improvements were ruined when a landslide collapsed the diversion canal a year after construction. Fortunately the China Merchants Charitable Foundation, a Heifer partner, stepped in and replaced the canal with a steel pipe. Now, the lofty village enjoys proper irrigation, giving the farmers water, a luxury many take for granted.

Hasmik Papyan's family has been living in a small wagon-house since an earthquake devastated their Armenian community of Stepanavan in 1988. When Hasmik received Olya, a pregnant cow from Heifer Armenia, the future started looking bright. Olya gives the family two to three gallons of milk a day, which goes a long way to support the family's nutritional and financial needs.