Animals such as a cow are given to families by Heifer International. Image: fotopedia.com/flickr

Heifer International, established in 1944, is a non-profit organization that operates on a global scale. It is a proven method of fighting poverty and hunger using sustainable measures.

 

Heifer’s mission is to work within communities in order to fight hunger and poverty while caring for the earth and natural environments at the same time.

 

It is quite a unique project. It does not give food to relieve hunger, but instead passes on skills and resources, such as seeds and other agricultural products, in order to fight hunger and poverty.

 

Looking at it from a simpler point of view, you can say that Heifer does not give people bread. Instead, it shows people how to grow maize and, in the end harvest and make bread themselves. It learns people invaluable lessons in how to provide by using natural resources available.

 

This is done by providing initial resources such as livestock and seeds along with training.

 

This all started with one man named Dan West. He was handing out rations of milk during the Spanish Civil War when he realized that, “these children don’t need a cup, they need a cow.”

 

This organization is not about temporary relief at all, but long-term, sustainable relief. Heifer International has made a huge difference and it was measured in 2009 that a total of 1.63 million families received invaluable help from Heifer International.

 

Heifer operates a total of four program areas namely Asia and the south Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, the Americas and Africa.

 

In 2009 the number of families assisted in each program area was as follows:

-        Asia and the south Pacific – 432 976

-        Central and Eastern Europe – 282 623

-        The Americas – 473 319

-        Africa 442 942

 

With organizations such as these, we are paving the way to a future where economy is strong and self sustainability is a way of life. In third world countries, self sustainability is not an eco-friendly way of living, but a way to survive.

 

If we can teach people how to produce products that serve their own needs, we can give these people not only a valuable life skill and job, but a way to survive as well.