Heifer International:

Passing on the Gifts—Not a Cup but a Cow

Barbara Gifford
Resource Development Assistant
Lifespan Faith Development
UUA, Boston, MA

What is Heifer International?

Heifer International is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that works to alleviate hunger and poverty, and to restore the environment by providing appropriate livestock, training, and related services to small-scale farmers. Their emphasis is on empowering communities of families worldwide. Heifer has supported more than 4 million families in the US and in 127 other countries.

Heifer International's goal of sustainability arose out of founder Dan West's experience as a war relief volunteer. Distributing powdered milk to hungry families, he observed that when families used their ration, they were again without food. The food helped but did not sustain the family. He returned to the US and started a program to send heifers to families in need. West reasoned that with animals and the training to care for them, families could sustain themselves with the resources the animals provide: milk, meat, money, muscle, material, manure, and motivation. In addition, West created a system where families receiving animals make an agreement to pass on the gift—for example, giving the first-born from their animal and/or training—to another family. This is beautifully illustrated in the book Beatrice's Goat —the inspiring story of a Heifer family in Uganda, which was on the New York Times ' best-seller list for children's picture books. As the program evolved, Heifer began to involve local people, animals, and resources in their provisioning. The result has been the empowerment of local organizations and the forging of partnerships between the US and other countries.

Social Action with Heifer: One Congregation's Story

For 5 weeks, the children's program of First Parish in Lexington, Massachusetts, engaged in a social action mini-term. In multi-age groupings, 35 3-to-10 year-olds came together to learn about world hunger, the importance of giving, and Heifer International. Led by DRE Lynn Weygint, with the help of volunteers, the children raised money through coin cans and coffee-hour sales to purchase a beehive, chicks, goat, and heifer for Heifer partners. Lynn 's goals for participants were: to learn about where the food they eat comes from and to understand some things they could do to end hunger and poverty—while emphasizing our interdependent web of life.

A variety of activities each week offered something for children's interests and learning styles. When the beekeepers visited with their hives, children made granola with honey to sell at coffee hour. At other stations around the room, they could choose to play with beeswax, watch a video about bees, and eat honey sticks. When the chicken from next door visited, children sat in a circle and fed her, made sculptures from egg cartons and pipe cleaners, made deviled eggs to sell at coffee hour, and had an outdoor egg and spoon race. Reading Beatrice's Goat helped children connect with First Parish's project to support an AIDS orphanage in Zambia. This was followed by activities to familiarize children more with Zambian culture. The congregation drumming circle visited, children built their own rhythm instruments, made the game Mankala from egg cartons and beans, and created Support Zambia beaded safety pins for sale at coffee hour. In the process children became congregational leaders, building awareness about Heifer and the critical issues of poverty and hunger that the organization addresses.

Resources

Heifer International offers educational, social action, and fund-raising resources for children, youth, adults, and congregations in print and on their Web site www.heifer.org and www.heifer.org/Learn/Educational_Resources/Index.shtml .

For youth, the video Get Connected! charts the trials, tribulations, and learning of 20 US youth experiencing the Global Village at Heifer Ranch, Perryville, Arkansas. With limited food, water, and fuel, the youth discover surprising solutions to ending world hunger." A Day in the Life study guide accompanies the video.

Congregations can contact Heifer regional offices for help in planning programs and arranging speakers. Regional offices (1-800-422-0474) offer exhibit materials and a limited number of displays. Congregational Packets, which are available at no charge, include Heifer booklets and brochures, fund-raising ideas, and " Helping Congregations Help the World"—a Church Resource Catalog for books, videos, brochures, and more. Free resources can be ordered online .

Books used in the Lexington First Parish program:

Beatrice's Goat, by Page McBrier with Lori Lohstoeter, Illustrator. New York: Alladin Paperbacks, 2004.

Faith the Cow, by Susan Bame Hoover with Maggie Sykora, Illustrator. Elgin, IL: Brethren Press, 1995.

Video used in the Lexington First Parish program:

The Promise—showing how Beatrice and Parmatra from India live. The video is available from the UUA Loan Library 617-948-6454 or email rbrown@uua.org .