Student Contributor -N. Hall
Heifer International is all about ending world poverty and hunger by supporting agriculture and training people around the world to sustain themselves through farming. Heifer International raises money to do two things. They provide training in sustaining the environment, nutrition, and economic development. They also use their funds to provide livestock and/or crops for communities to get their farm started.
Heifer International teaches values such as ecosystem protection, water and soil conservation, and strategies to reduce our carbon footprint, as well as climate-smart agriculture and livestock production to communities in need. They have helped 138,000 small-scale farmers to help them reach a living income by teaching strategies for economic development. By providing livestock, seeds and agriculture training, they have also managed to raise the median of adequate food provision from 10.75 months up to 11.14 months over the course of a year. This means families are providing more food for their families as a result of Heifer International’s support. All together, they have helped upward of 18,938 families, and this new found wealth (valued at $7.7 million) in agriculture will be passed on to the next generation through the Gift. This organization truly is the gift that keeps giving for generations into the future.
A great way to bring this organization into the classroom would be through an economics or agriculture discussion. Heifer International has their own “formula for success” which ties in great to any discussion about what makes a successful civilization or community.
Heifer International has a free downloadable workbook available for teachers to get students involved called Chores for Change. This involves sending students into the community to volunteer their time doing “chores” for others and in return, asking those individuals or businesses to pledge donations to Heifer International. For example, a class could set a goal to recruit enough sponsors to provide a goat for a family in Rwanda!
