What is that old saying, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life.”
I think that’s why I find what Heifer International does every day, across the globe, to be world changing. And yes, I have written about this organization before but when there are so many lives changed, so many communities lifted out of poverty, I cannot ignore them.
Heifer International deserves all the attention it gets. Why?
You can read all about the organization. Or, if you’re into short stories, watch this brief video clip to find out. (Heifer has been doing this so long and so well, it can explain how it works in exactly 1 minute.)
So, this organization doesn’t arrive with boxes of food and measuring cups. They arrive with livestock – goats, cattle, water buffalo, chickens, ducks, even bees. And they don’t just drop the animals off and drive away.
Heifer works with the community, creating a development plan, choosing recipients carefully and providing all the training needed including animal husbandry, water quality and ecologically sound agricultural practices.
People who receive livestock are also expected to raise crops needed to feed their animals, to become self-supporting. And all recipients become donors – passing on offspring to other members in the community or village. The objective is to help feed hungry people but also, to create sustainable growth. (They’ve got a short video about this, too.)
Heifer is truly teaching men and women to fish.
Started in 1939 by a relief worker named Dan West, Heifer International has helped more than 12 million families and a total of 62 million men, women and children. One man’s simple idea –giving families a source of food rather than short-term relief — hasn’t changed since he took the first shipment of cattle to Puerto Rico in 1944. It is alive and helping people in 128 countries around the world including the United States.
That’s why I love this organization, I support them instead of typical relief organizations and, yes, I write about them. But they are literally changing the world. For as little as $20.00 you can buy a flock of chicks or ducklings and start changing the world, too.
If you know any other people in your town or city who are helping others, please send me the name of the group and any info you want to share and I will do the rest.
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