NOBEL Laureate Wangari Maathai THE WOMAN WHO PLANTS PEACE

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2005 WITH INDIGENOUS AFTER THE HURRICANES PEOPLES HEIFER PROJECTS WORK IN MEXICO TO REBUILD HORIZONS | PEACE TAKES ROOT

Dear n this issue of World Ark we honor and ment is directly related to securing peace.” celebrate 2004 Nobel Peace Prize win- At Heifer we see this link between caring Friends … ner Wangari Maathai, a woman whose for the Earth, ending poverty and fostering By Jo Luck tireless crusade for community em- peace again and again as we work with project Ipowerment and a clean environment has partners who cultivate livestock, crops and President and CEO made Kenya a greener and healthier place. trees in ways that improve soil and water Maathai has shown the world that the simple quality rather than diminish it. Fortifi ed by but powerful act of planting a tree can yield the food and income their animals provide, “Protecting lasting benefi ts for women, families and com- families are able to pull themselves from the the global munities. grip of poverty. As project participants “pass As founder of the Green Belt Movement, on the gift” by sharing their animals’ offspring environment is Maathai has encouraged and organized with others—along with their knowledge, directly related the planting of trees to prevent soil erosion, resources and skills—an expanding network to securing preserve biodiversity and protect water of hope, dignity and self-reliance is created quality. Women have been the primary that reaches around the globe. peace.” participants, planting more than 30 million Some Heifer projects are designated trees on farms, school campuses, church as offi cial peace projects because they help yards and public spaces across Kenya. By people in places where war, confl ict or ten- taking action to improve their own quality of sions are prevalent. But perhaps all of our life, these women have found empowerment projects can, in a sense, be considered peace for themselves and secured a better future projects. for their children. We feel that Heifer International and We at Heifer have admired and support- the Green Belt Movement are partners in ed Maathai’s incredible work for decades. the most important work of our time, the In fact, we’ve worked alongside Green Belt essential work of combating poverty. We lift Movement participants in Africa, which is up Maathai as she lifts up the thousands of home to Heifer’s most extensive network of people who have joined her in the Green projects—and some of its oldest. Much of Belt Movement. And we applaud her efforts Heifer’s model for sustainable development to show the world the immutable ties among and community-building was piloted on war, hunger and environmental degrada- African soil. tion. As Maathai has said, Maathai started the Green Belt Movement “Working together, we in 1977 because she realized a healthy envi- have proven that sus- ronment was key not only to human health, tainable development but also to world peace and understanding. is possible; that refor- When she traveled to Norway to accept the estation of degraded Nobel Peace Prize she explained the con- land is possible; and nection between a healthy environment, that exemplary gover- economic well-being and peace. nance is possible “Some people have asked what the rela- when ordinary tionship is between peace and environment, citizens are in- and to them I say that many wars are fought formed, sensi- over resources, which are becoming increas- tised, mobilized ingly scarce across the Earth,” she said. “If we and involved in did a better job of managing our resources direct action sustainably, confl icts over them would be for their envi- reduced. So, protecting the global environ- ronment.” United States

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Kenya PREVIEWQuite often happiness, real happiness, WORLD ARK November/December 2005 “for us human beings comes when we go beyond ourselves and we serve others. —Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai ” 6

16 33 6 The Woman Who Plants Peace 25 Heifer Holiday Gift Catalog By Jan Cottingham From a fl ock of chicks to an ark of animals, great gifts Heifer International visits with Wangari Maathai, founder and real solutions to world hunger are all right here. of the Green Belt Movement and the fi rst African woman and fi rst environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize. 33 “To Help People Live” By Lauren Wilcox 12 Thirty Million Trees One family’s legacy of giving will make By Jan Cottingham a difference to millions. The Green Belt Movement is not only preserving and improving the environment, it Putting “Trust” in Heifer is empowering the formerly powerless. 50 A longtime Heifer supporter “passes on the gift” during her lifetime. 16 The Power of Tradition By Sherri Nelson Cover: Photo by Ricardo Medina, courtesy of Friends Mexico’s indigenous people reclaim their rich of the Green Belt Movement North America history—and transform their present. DEPARTMENTS 20 Hurricanes and Heifer 2 Letters/Feedback From Our Readers By Austin Gelder 4 For the Record After Katrina and then Rita, Heifer’s project 35 Heifer Spirit Llama Drama Spotlights Hunger participants in Louisiana and Mississippi 40 Heifer Bulletin Heifer Youth Meet struggle to assess the damage. to Promote Teamwork 44 Mixed Media Ending Global Poverty: 23 The Café of Miracles A Guide to What Works By Tom Peterson 48 Calendar of Events One father realizes how far we have come, 49 Travel With a Purpose and how much hope there is for the future. 52 Refl ection My Advocate, My Grandmother www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 1 LETTERS |FEEDBACK FROM OUR READERS

Q&A, July/August: Would you be in favor of a “congestion tax” on traffic in urban areas, as the city of London has instituted?

I think that the congestion parking problem should be included data on traffic have included statistics on tax is a great idea. Along addressed first. and phones. the benefits of mass trans- with that tax there should Joel Woodhull As a former staff per- portation, carpooling or oth- also be a uniform feder- Sonoma County, Calif. son in the Sierra Club’s er alternatives to address al gas tax to be used not Challenge to Sprawl cam- congestion. for more highways but for My sister lives in London paign, I am concerned that The map showing the dis- a mass transit system. If and I visited her in February. the “Hurry Up and Wait” tribution of phone service people want to buy and She is very glad about the paragraphs on U.S. traffic around the world was an ef- drive large gas-wasting ve- congestion tax. It makes congestion might influence fort to share with our read- hicles, fine, but they should her plan better when she casual readers to support ers the similarities and dif- pay for that “right”! goes into the designated building more roads. ferences in lifestyles around J. Zastrow area, the pollution is defi- Instead, we can focus the world. We thought that Milwaukee, Wis. nitely better, and it is much on development and in- a common denominator like easier to get around. And I crease funding for mass phone use—something we Maybe. If the city has a believe those who come in transit, both proven ways tend to take for granted in well-developed public tran- from outlying areas should to reduce pollution and to the United States—might sit system that reaches to help the centers pay for all conserve our time, resourc- be an interesting way to do outlying areas, yes. How- the infrastructure and the es and public spending. that. We thank you again for ever, if the city is similar services provided, so I’m We Americans, who are your careful reading of the to the one in which I live— very much in favor. privileged to live in a most magazine and your thought- Atlanta—no. Atlanta is a Moya Hambridge affluent country, can learn ful letter. sprawling city with a se- Atlanta to live more gently on the verely underdeveloped pub- Earth. We can become bet- Support for Ethiopia lic transit system. Charg- Living Gently ter citizens of this planet, I have a few questions. Do ing a congestion tax would Thank you for another stim- working with other people you help the people of Ethi- only further penalize those ulating issue of World Ark to reduce extreme pover- opia? If you do, do you help who currently commute to [July/August 2005]. Great ty and share precious re- them the most? the city, and many of those to see Barbara Kingsolv- sources. I was inspired when I do so because they cannot er’s “Passing on the Gift” Frank L. Fox was waiting for my TV show afford to live in the city. story from Peru and Les- Mechanicsville, Md. to come on and watched the Nadine Bowden ter Brown’s thesis that in- last two minutes of Feed Atlanta creasing global tempera- Editor’s Note: You raise in- the Children. It told me that ture, population and auto- teresting and valid points. Ethiopia needs help. Yes, the London-style cen- mobiles are all making ar- We at World Ark intend- tral city tax would be a good able land more scarce. ed the item on traffic to il- idea in the U.S., at some As a former Peace lustrate the rising depen- point, in a few places. Un- Corps teacher in Nigeria, I dence, in urban areas, on World Ark welcomes com- like London, however, all ur- contribute to the mission motor vehicles as the pri- ments from readers. All ban areas in the U.S. heav- of Heifer. The information mary means of transpor- letters will be considered ily subsidize parking, which on pages four and five on tation. We hoped to make for publication; please in- is the chief generator of ve- wealth and health help to the point that this trend is clude a telephone number, hicle trips. Since it is far underline the effects of expensive, a waste of re- city and state so that we easier to stop subsidizing hunger on children and the sources and causes pollu- may confirm authorship. parking than to undertake importance of the well-off tion. We did not intend for Heifer International re- the complications of charg- giving back to the world the information to be inter- serves the right to edit let- ing a congestion tax on that sustains them. But I preted as support for new ters for clarity, grammar, moving vehicles, the real don’t understand why you roads. Perhaps we should spelling and space.

2 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org The first few times I and that there would soon met and hosted James for bought chicks I got the be Heifer projects there. several months in 1995- PRESIDENT AND CEO money by picking up pine In addition to these plans, 96. We arranged for him Jo Luck cones. For each pine Heifer has projects in many to speak at several church- cone, I got a penny. Now I other countries in Africa, es during the Christmas work with a friend named including Cameroon, Kenya, season so he could share 1015 Louisiana St. Preston Lennon, age 7, Ghana, South Africa and his story of the Heifer cow Little Rock, AR/USA 72202 who helps me earn money Uganda, where there is a and how it had changed E-mail: [email protected] for you. great need for the kind of his family’s life. Each time To change or remove an Donny Ross, age 9 sustainable development he spoke, the congrega- address, please e-mail Wilmington, N.C. that Heifer seeks to provide. tion was spellbound by his [email protected]. Thanks so much to you and sincerity and his prayerful PUBLISHER Editor’s Note: Thank you your friend Preston for help- gratefulness for the gift of Tom Peterson very much for taking the ing us with our work. People the cow. COMMUNICATIONS time to write. We spoke like you are the reason that When I took James to DIRECTOR with Geneti Debia, who we can continue to expand the airport and hugged Michael Haddigan works with Heifer’s Africa our programs around the him goodbye, he took my EDITOR programs and who is Ethio- world and help even more hand and said, “Now you Jan Cottingham pian himself. He said that families become self-reliant. must come visit me in ASSOCIATE EDITOR while there were no com- my country.” I had nev- Lauren Wilcox pletely Heifer-sponsored Seeing Is Believing er traveled overseas, but GRAPHIC DESIGNERS projects in Ethiopia right I was delighted to read the I thought that if James Grace Domagala-Zobkov now, Heifer staff members interview with James Tinka- could do it, so could I! Pooi Yin Chong were working with a local maniyre on page 34 [July/ The next January, I John Houser organization in Ethiopia August]. My family and I joined a Heifer Study Tour WRITERS to Heifer farms in Kenya, Sherri Nelson Tanzania and Uganda, Austin Gelder James’ country. Meeting CREATIVE SERVICES the other part of the Heif- MANAGER er family and seeing how Marleen New & amazingly the program ADVERTISING SALES Q A works were unforgettable [email protected] experiences. Everywhere (501) 907-2880 Have you ever sought to promote we went we were thanked Heifer International publishes over and over for the help World Ark bimonthly for donors and peace within your family, community we had given in the form of friends. Heifer has helped millions of impoverished families worldwide livestock. become more self-reliant through or another area of your life? James, Heifer changes the gift of livestock and training in lives here, too, and we their care. A nonprofit organization rooted in the Christian tradition, ❑ Yes ❑ No volunteers receive far Heifer works for the dignity and more than we give in time well-being of all people. Mail your response and tell us a little about why and money. Seeing is Heifer is a member of InterAction. believing, and I would Federal employees may designate gifts you responded as you did to the address on our to the Combined Federal Campaign by urge anyone who can to writing in #0315. Heifer International is masthead, or e-mail it to [email protected]. join a Heifer Study Tour. a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization and gifts to Heifer are tax deductible and are Audrey Veath used as designated until current needs Barrington, Ill. of those projects are met. Further gifts are applied to similar projects so that gifts begin helping people immediately. www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 3 FOR THE RECORD

Keeping It Close to Home oday’s globalization of business means that the old model of “locally owned, locally operated” is in sharp Tdecline. Manufacturing, agriculture and retail have all become dominated by centralized corporations. What are the reasons for us to get back to buying and consuming only what we can produce locally? Frances Moore Lappé, in her new book Democracy’s Edge, gives us a few. Local Economies Features ...... and how they make our lives better. • Less fossil fuel used for transportation Buying Power Proximity between producing means less pollution something and consuming it, • Time between harvesting and eating is ou’re in the market for, say, a especially food, energy and other shortened, meaning healthier, tastier vacuum cleaner. You’d like one life essentials food Y that sucks up the dirt well, won’t • Supply is less vulnerable to natural or get clogged with dog hair and costs hostile disruptions less than a round-trip ticket to Paris. Fine. But did you ever consider buying Centralized economies no longer a vacuum based on the number of able to pit one country’s workers • Downward pressure on wages is lifted women on the board of directors of the against another’s company that makes it? No? • More wealth stays in the hands of A new website, www.idealworks.com, Fewer layers of middlemen producers and in the communities allows you to not only do just that, but where it is created to evaluate consumer brands across a slate of socially conscious catego- More direct contact between • Heightens community-bonding and its ries including questionable corpo- producers and consumers benefi ts rate practices, minority issues, nucle- ar energy and animal rights. It ranks Producers and purchasers pay • Makes possible the conservation of brands according to the criteria you attention to values broader than water, and the restoration of air and soil choose, and explains the reasoning be- highest fi nancial return quality hind each ranking. And then you get to make the call. Is it Less “sameness,” more cultural • Enhances pride in place and worth more to you that your toothpaste variety appreciation of differences was made by a company that was ranked one of Fortune’s “Best Companies for Adapted from Democracy’s Edge by Frances Moore Lappé, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2005 Minorities” or that the company has a history of strikes and employee unrest? Idealworks.com is a fascinating behind- the-scenes look at corporate America, “The only tyrant I accept in this world is warts and all. With a little luck, it will turn into a major source of consumer the still voice within.” leverage. So exercise your right to —Mahatma Gandhi know. (Of course, if you just want a toothpaste with a nice, minty taste, you’re on your own.)

4 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org Breathing Easier hen Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring, about the dangers of the pesticide DDT, was published in W1962, the environment was in a sad state of affairs. Some rivers around the United States were nearly dead, poisoned by industrial runoff (Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River, which caught fire in 1969, became the era’s poster child), many cities were choked with smog, and levels of pollutants released into the environment were rising. But around the same time, propelled in part by Carson’s book, a new movement to preserve the environment was gathering steam. For the first time, citizens were becoming United States grew more than 10 million acres, a trend aware of the long-term ramifications of spending our that began almost a century ago. In part, this is because natural resources like a bottomless bank account. Some 40 we no longer rely on horses for transportation, and horses years and many pieces of legislation later, the improvements required vast tracts of grazing land. But it is also because are obvious—and astonishing. we have developed cleaner, more efficient ways of heating According to the Index of Leading Environmental our homes than burning firewood. Indicators 2005, published by the American Enterprise Of course, this doesn’t mean the struggle is over. Here Institute and the Pacific Research Institute, air pollution and around the world, many environmental problems in the United States decreased again last year, to its lowest persist or are growing worse. But when the problems seem level ever. Overall, pollutants released into the environment overwhelming, we should remember that we have the have dropped by 55 percent since 1988. Also interesting power to solve them, as we have before. (And today, the to note is that between 1990 and 2000, forestland in the Cuyahoga has a thriving riverfront community.) ess Arou Feed Your Friends, ogr nd r In the 1960s, th Feed America P 90 countries were identified g e n as the world’s least developed and W his fall, bake up a storm and i were targeted for intensive aid and development help end childhood hunger o k efforts. Recently, those countries were evaluated r in the United States by host- a again, based on World Bank Statistics. Twenty-five of those l T d ing a bake sale in your communi- M countries have made so much progress that they are no longer ty. Held from Oct. 16, 2005, to Jan. considered “developing” and have become aid donors themselves, 29, 2006, the third annual Great including Portugal, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. A second group of American Bake Sale raises money countries, including the Philippines, Peru, Ecuador and South Africa, for America’s 13 million hungry has made great strides but still struggles with many issues endemic children. Since 2003, more than to developing countries. A third group, which includes Nepal, Sri

1 million people have baked, Lanka and Ghana, has made slow but steady progress, though bought and sold their goodies, these countries still house a large percentage of the world’s raising more than $2.7 million. poor. And another 40 countries, many in sub-Saharan Africa, To learn more, and to register are still desperately poor and rife with civil unrest and to hold your own Great Amer- remain among our global community’s biggest ican Bake Sale, please visit challenges and responsibilities. www.greatamericanbakesale.org or call (800) 761-GABS. From “Making a World of Difference,” the Department of Nutrition, Georgia State University

www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 5 6 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org NOBEL LAUREATE Wangari Maathai THE WOMAN WHO PLANTS PEACE

By Jan Cottingham World Ark Editor Photos by Darcy Kiefel

AIROBI, KENYA—PROFESSOR she delivers the third annual Nelson Mandela Lecture in Wangari Maathai greets her three visitors Johannesburg. That she is even taking any time at all to from Heifer International graciously and talk to us is an indication that what those who know her with a broad smile, but her eyes are tired and best say is true: Winning the Nobel has not changed her Nshe looks a little puzzled, as if she’s thinking, “Now, just personality. She has remained genuine, open, a woman of who are these people?”After all, the three of us—myself; the people. Darcy Kiefel, Heifer’s photographer; and Crispin Mwatate Maathai is a strong woman who has had to be strong, with Heifer Kenya—comprise just one of several groups of who has faced confl ict bravely and whose very selection as people patiently waiting outside Maathai’s offi ce on the 12th a Nobel laureate generated controversy. Why, some asked, fl oor of a nondescript offi ce building in downtown Nairobi, did the Nobel Committee select a woman best known for Kenya’s sprawling, frenetic capital. All of us are supplicants founding the Green Belt Movement, a nonprofi t grassroots in some way, seeking just a bit of her time, a word, a photo, organization that focuses on environmental conservation, some part of this remarkable woman who until less than primarily through planting trees, to receive this highest of a year ago was known primarily among environmentalists honors—the Nobel Peace Prize? What, these people asked, and women’s rights activists. do trees have to do with peace? Now, though, the woman once denounced by Kenyan It’s a question that we will ask and she will answer, but President Daniel arap Moi as a “mad woman” is a Nobel fi rst things fi rst. We have 20 minutes to talk with Maathai, Peace Prize winner, the 2004 Peace Prize winner to her assistant tells us, hurriedly ushering us into the be precise. She also is Kenya’s assistant minister for professor’s offi ce. I have come from Little Rock, Ark., site Environment and Natural Resources. The activist who of Heifer’s headquarters, with a few small gifts, which I fought the government has joined the government, and fairly fl ing at Maathai in a rush. The most meaningful of she’s having to learn a different way of doing things. And if these, at least for me, is the arrowhead from my family’s it’s not quite true that everyone knows of her, it’s certainly farm in western Arkansas, one of dozens found over the true that millions more do than before the October 2004 years by my part-Cherokee father, who died a year ago at announcement of her selection. 85. And it is indeed the arrowhead that sparks Maathai’s Professor Maathai, the “Tree Lady,” as some call her, is interest. Wangari Maathai comes from the Kikuyu tribe or the fi rst African woman and the fi rst environmentalist to “micro-nation,” the term Maathai is said to prefer, one of 42 win the Nobel Peace Prize. They are just two, if among the in Kenya and, along with the Luhya, the largest. I explain most impressive, of many fi rsts for this woman who radiates that we have tribes in the United States too, Indian tribes, warmth, who, as she begins to answer questions, shakes although, as Jeffrey Sachs, head of Columbia University’s off whatever fatigue she may be feeling and, gathering Earth Institute, wrote in the Sunday Times of London, we momentum as she speaks, energizes herself as well as her are all Africans—genetically, geographically, some of us small audience, gesturing, laughing, glowing with purpose staying in the continent of our origin, others wandering and life. Only fi ve days from today, she will be addressing until we populated the planet. fellow Nobel Peace Prize winners Nelson Mandela and “Ah, this is wonderful,” Maathai says in her lilting East Desmond Tutu, as well as former President Bill Clinton, as African accent, fi ngering the small but beautifully formed www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 7 arrowhead. “You know, we just stopped in The area is among those known as the White Philadelphia. There was this concert. It Highlands for the European colonialists was fantastic.” Maathai’s daughter, Wanjira, who came to the region in the late 19th had told us in an interview the day before and early 20th centuries to farm, planting about the music and dance performance by coffee and tea. It was made famous to non- Native Americans and how much she and Africans by writer Isak Dinesen, author of her mother had enjoyed it. Out of Africa. Mindful of how little time we have, I Her eldest brother, Nderitu, suggested find myself saying, “I hate to be so rushed, to their Catholic parents that Wangari but let’s get to it,” meaning the interview. attend school, unusual for a girl in Kenya at “Let’s get to it,” Maathai agrees, nodding that time and still something not taken for her head. granted in that country. Taught by Irish and “Please explain the relationship between Italian nuns, Wangari excelled in school, planting trees and peace.” and, through the efforts of the Kennedy It’s a relationship she’s had to explain Foundation and other groups seeking to help many times. It’s a relationship that the No- prepare African nations for independence bel Committee explained this way: “Peace by educating potential leaders, she received on Earth depends on our ability to secure a scholarship to Mount St. Scholastica our living environment. Maathai stands at College (now Benedictine College) in the front of the fight to promote ecologi- Atchison, Kan. Maathai has said that early cally viable social, economic and cultural on she found she had an affinity for the development in Kenya and in Africa. She sciences, that she enjoyed studying the links has taken a holistic approach to sustainable between causes and effects. She graduated development that embraces democracy, hu- from Mount St. Scholastica (where she was man rights and women’s rights in particular. known as Mary Jo) in 1964 with a degree She thinks globally and acts locally.” in biology. She then entered the University of Pittsburgh, where she earned a master’s The Farmers’ Daughter degree in biological sciences. his outwardly gentle woman, a daughter Maathai has told interviewers that the Tof farmers, has endured what has come more than five years she spent studying to seem a rite of passage for many Nobel in the United States during the throes of Peace Prize winners: scorn, ostracism, the civil rights movement was a formative beatings, death threats, imprisonment. She experience. Maathai, an African woman, has had to spend time in hiding and to move saw the fight for equal rights for African- around the country in disguises. Some of Americans as a demonstration of the power her colleagues have been killed. None of of activism and the power of democracy, or this horror seems to have registered on her as she prefers to call it, “democratic space.” round, shining face, a face serious when “I internalized a lot, the need for freedom.” discussing issues but always on the verge of In a speech last year at Columbia University a wide smile whenever her eyes meet those in New York, Maathai told the audience of another. that “I can sincerely say that my coming to Wangari Muta Maathai was born in America was a great opening of the eyes Nyeri, Kenya, on April 1, 1940, the daughter for me. It gave me a completely different and third child of Muta Wanjugu and horizon, a different perception, and it gave Lydia Wanjiru Muta. Nyeri, about 60 miles me some values that I have tried to share northeast of Nairobi, lies in the fertile and it really made me who I am.” Central Highlands area of the country, in In 1969, Maathai married businessman the foothills of the Aberdare Mountains. Mwangi Maathai, an aspiring politician. In

8 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org 1971, she received a doctorate in veterinary anatomy from the University of Nairobi, where she eventually became department chair and later an associate professor. She was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a Ph.D., as well as the first woman in the region to head a university department and teach at a university. Maathai didn’t become involved in deforestation issues until 1974, after her husband decided to seek a seat in Kenya’s Parliament. By his side during the campaign, Maathai listened to the concerns voiced by Mwangi Maathai’s prospective constituents in Langata in the Nairobi province. She saw a pattern in the problems expressed, particularly by the women. The main difficulty: no jobs. Politicians promise jobs. Wangari Maathai suggested a tree-planting project. In her book The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience, she writes: “Perhaps because I was naïve, I took the political promises that we made to the voters seriously and agonized over finding ways to have them fulfilled, especially if we won the elections.” Maathai’s husband won. Now, she thought, it was up to her to fulfill his cam- paign promises. She formed a private com- pany, Envirocare, based in her home, to disease. The disease was environmental deg- Rosi Ngei, 10, stands hire residents to, among other things, plant radation, deforestation. She proposed to the in front of her trees. Envirocare, lacking capital, eventual- council a tree-planting project. Trees prevent classmates at the ly became defunct. During this time, howev- soil erosion. Trees could protect water sourc- Magedi School. The er, Maathai had become involved in the en- es. Trees could provide fuel and building ma- students have been vironmental movement in Kenya and with terial. Fruit trees could provide food. Trees learning about the the National Council of Women of Kenya, could provide fodder. Planting trees could efforts of the Green which serves both urban and rural women. provide jobs and income. Belt Movement. The members’ complaints included malnu- She suggested calling the tree-planting trition, the necessity of walking long dis- campaign Save the Land Harambee (haram- tances for water, depleted and eroded soil bee is Swahili for “let us all pull together”). leading to an increase in desert-like con- And on World Environment Day, June 5, 1977, ditions, lack of wood for cooking fires and Maathai and others in the campaign and in construction, lack of fodder for any animals the government planted seven trees in Kamu- that they might be lucky enough to own and, kunji, a park on the outskirts of Nairobi. What of course, lack of jobs and income. would become the Green Belt Movement was Maathai, the scientist, saw these as symp- born, and Wangari Maathai had embarked toms and looked past the symptoms for the on a journey she couldn’t have imagined. www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 9 sustainably, more respon- sibly, more accountably, if we were to agree to share them more equitably, we would be able to reduce conflict.” “Now to be able to manage our resources in that way and to share them in that way, we need democratic space, a space which respects the rule of law, a space which respects our rights. And such a space is often not available in areas where we have conflict, where we are either dealing with dictators or we are Musyoka Ngutway (left) “People Fight Over Resources” dealing with absolute rulers or we are and Mr. Masoka, of the “ hen you look at many of the dealing with people who do not want to Amkeni Youth Group, Wconflicts that we have—and even respect the rule of law.” work together spacing in this country you can see those conflicts seedlings. in the newspapers right now—people Facing Down the Government fight over resources,” Maathai tells the rofessor Maathai, as she is usually called, visitors to her office this July day. “It is Pknows something about dictators, as either because the resources have become does all of Kenya. As leader of the Green extremely degraded and therefore they Belt Movement, she came into frequent are very scarce or they have disappeared conflict with President Daniel arap Moi, and people get into a conflict.” Kenya’s president from 1978 to 2002. In We would not realize it for several hours, 1982, under Moi’s leadership, Kenya became but Maathai’s words were particularly, and a one-party state. tragically, timely. That very day in Marsabit, The Green Belt Movement sought not a village in Kenya’s northern frontier, raid- only to establish “green belts” of trees ers had massacred scores of villagers—the throughout Kenya; it also fought the in- toll would eventually rise to at least 95—in creasing privatization and destruction of violence spawned by conflicts over scarce ar- Kenya’s forests. The country’s forests faced able land and even scarcer water. threats from several directions. Powerful “And on this continent, we have many, elites engaged in unrestricted logging or many examples of such and especially be- clear-cutting for development. Tree farmers tween grazing communities such as pasto- replaced indigenous trees with non-indige- ral communities and farming communi- nous, sometimes invasive species that grew ties,” Maathai says. “Even at a global level quickly and could be harvested for income. or even at a national level, many wars are Poor Kenyans raided the forests for fuel fought over resources. So I think that when and building material. Landless, often des- you think seriously we can see that if we perate citizens cleared the forests to grow were to be able, if we were to accept as a hu- crops. And the government either looked man family to manage our resources more the other way or even assisted its cronies.

10 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org Corruption was rampant. Wanjira says of her mother, “She never, ever One famous conflict involved Maathai said one bad thing about him [her father]. leading a protest against the government’s She always made sure we saw him.” This plans to develop Uhuru Park, the one large equanimity seems consistent with Professor green space in the center of Nairobi, a Maathai’s character. In interviews, though city of about 2.5 million people dispersed she notes the special vilification reserved among high-rise concrete office towers and for her as a woman standing up to men in a sprawling slums of tin-roofed shacks. deeply conservative culture (President Moi Moi’s business associates planned was quoted in 1992 as saying that it was “un- to build in Uhuru Park (uhuru means African and unimaginable for a woman to “freedom” in Swahili) a 62-story skyscraper, challenge or oppose men”), she expresses a development to be graced with a 60-foot it matter-of-factly, with a sort of resigned statue of Moi himself. The complex of “what can you expect?” attitude. Referring to buildings was projected to cost about $200 the controversy over Uhuru Park, Maathai million. Professor Maathai opposed it not told The New York Times in 1989: “They can’t only for environmental reasons but because stand a woman who stands up. I’m being of its enormous costs. seen as an arrogant woman because I dare Moi was furious. He said the develop- to object. I call them arrogant.” ment’s opponents, many of them wom- en, had “insects in their heads.” He called Written in Blood Maathai, who had joined in the legal ac- uring the late 1980s and early 1990s, tion against the development, a “mad wom- DKenyans, seeing the democratic rev- an” and said the Green Belt Movement was olutions of Eastern Europe, grew restive “subversive” and a threat to the order and se- under Moi’s autocratic regime and began curity of the country. Green Belt Movement calling for a multiparty democracy. Hun- members were denounced as “ill-informed dreds of people were arrested, some were divorcees.” But Maathai prevailed, and the tortured, some received long prison terms, project was abandoned. and some were simply held without charge. It was not the first time, nor would it be In 1991, Moi agreed to permit other politi- the last, that Maathai’s gender became an cal parties, and elections were held in De- issue. Her husband had divorced her in 1980, cember 1992. The president and his party famously saying that she was “too educated, retained power, but opposition groups won too strong, too successful, too stubborn and almost half of Parliament’s seats. too hard to control.” In the middle of this, in March Professor Maathai’s daughter Wanjira 1992, mothers of the political prisoners Mathai (who spells her last name differently organized a hunger strike and requested than her mother) is one of her mother’s Professor Maathai’s support. The women, closest aides and the international liaison most of them in their 60s and 70s, marched for the Green Belt Movement. Wanjira, 32, to Uhuru Park, where they remained, with master’s degrees in public health and demanding that their sons be released. In business from Emory University in Atlanta, an effort to force the unarmed women to shares her mother’s smile, joyful demeanor disband, on the fifth day of the strike the and intelligence. She describes her police attacked the encampment, firing upbringing as happy and loving. It seems tear gas and beating the women. Maathai that whatever rancor may at one time have was knocked unconscious and spent a week existed between Wangari Maathai and her in the hospital. ex-husband, they never took it out on their In response to the violence, some of three children, Waweru, Wanjira and Muta. the women stripped naked in a traditional www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 11 he Green Belt Movement, like its founder, Wangari Maathai, focuses on much more than trees, though they are essential to the success of African reproach to those clubbing them. Tthe nonprofit organization as well as serv- For a mother or elderly woman to expose ing as powerful symbols of its mission. herself is a taboo, one that some believe Kenya is a predominantly rural, agri- brings on a curse. It was the only way the cultural country that also relies heavily on women could think of to defend themselves. tourism. The health of its economy and (It is still remembered in Nairobi with its people depends on the health of its shame. A male cab driver, on learning that I environment. Kenya’s environment faces was to interview Professor Maathai, flashed threats from deforestation, which is con- a smile, praised her courage and expressed tributing to the degradation of the nation’s pride in her achievement in winning the soil and the depletion of its water resourc- Nobel. He also pointed in passing to Uhuru es. Statistics vary, but some experts say Park and, speaking in tones of both sorrow that as much as 90 percent of Kenya’s and admiration, recounted “the day that natural forest cover has been lost over the old women exposed themselves.”) the past century. As Kenya’s forest cover The hunger strike and protest continued, shrinks—through clear-cutting, illegal log- however, this time in All Saints Cathedral. ging and development—so do the habi- After she was released from the hospital, tats that shelter its abundant wildlife. As Maathai rejoined the other women. Finally, habitat disappears, so do the wildlife and in early 1993, the hunger strike ended. Fifty- the wide variety of plant life, putting the one out of the 52 political prisoners had nation’s incredible biodiversity at risk. Al- been released. though only 2 percent of the landscape is For protesting illegal logging, Maathai forested, these forests are home to 40 A tree towers above the has been arrested numerous times, received percent of Kenya’s mammal species, 30 Green Belt Movement death threats and once, with her children, percent of its bird species and many indig- Learning Center, had to flee to Tanzania. In 1999, while she enous people who survive through hunting where groups receive was replanting a forest illegally cut down animals and gathering food plants. Defor- training in the benefits by property developers, security guards estation and other forms of environmental and techniques of beat her. She signed the police report in degradation are linked to hunger, poverty reforestation. her own blood. and malnutrition. Although it began as a job program, The Three-Legged Stool paying poor rural and urban women to n December 2002, Kenyans elected as raise and plant tree seedlings, it evolved Ipresident Mwai Kibaki, a member of the into a much more holistic movement. The opposition party the National Rainbow Green Belt Movement seeks, through the Coalition, who ran on an anticorruption grassroots efforts of its participants, to platform, and President Moi finally stepped educate, strengthen communities, pro- down. Maathai was elected to Parliament vide food, fuel, building material, green with 98 percent of the vote, one of 18 women spaces, income and jobs, increase health, elected to the 222-member governing preserve and enhance Kenya’s rich en- body. The next year, Kibaki appointed vironment and indigenous plant and ani- Professor Maathai to his cabinet as assistant mal species, protect and restore water environmental minister. The outsider catchment areas, and give the poor, par- had become an insider. (Despite Kibaki’s ticularly women, opportunities to devel- election, corruption remains a problem and op their skills. reforms have been slow in coming.) Under Maathai’s leadership, the Green Over the years, Maathai’s activism had Belt Movement has assisted in the plant- grown to include issues other than the en- ing of more than 30 million trees on both vironment: human rights, women’s rights, public (schools, churches, parks) and pri-

12 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org BY JAN COTTINGHAM 30 MILLION TREES AND COUNTING WORLD ARK EDITOR The Green Belt Movement vate lands. The Pan African Green Belt daughter and international liaison for the Ocean. Ruth Kavata Mbondo is a GBM Network was established in 1986, and Green Belt Movement, says in an inter- volunteer assisting the Muongo Wa Nyayo tree-planting programs have spread to view at the compound that she expects women’s group. The group has 14 mem- several other African nations, including the movement to expand not only in Ke- bers, 10 women and four men, all of them Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Lesotho, Ethi- nya but throughout the world, based on farmers. They are raising seedlings both opia and Zimbabwe. the number of requests from other na- of indigenous trees, such as msonobari The movement has educated millions tions for information on how to establish and neem, and the casuarina, a fast-grow- in the link between a healthy environ- Green Belt Movements. Maathai has es- ing tree harvested for sale to the many ment and sustainable development. In tablished a foundation, and Wanjira be- hotels and resorts in the region, which 1997, the GBM began conducting Green lieves one of the foundation’s roles will use them for roofing. After the seedlings Belt Safaris to expose people outside of be to inspire other countries to establish reach the planting stage, the group dis- Kenya to the organization’s community- green belts, “because the core of the tributes them to schools, public lands based approach to conservation and to Green Belt Movement is really about em- and for planting on the members’ own help raise money for the movement, in powering local people to take charge of small farms. an effort to make the program financially the environment. Tree planting is the ac- Sarah Mutuvi, 60, and the mother of self-sustaining. Despite the recognition it tion, is the symbol, is the focus. But the four, says that her work with the GBM has received and its many major interna- actual transformation is in the individual.” makes her feel united with the other tional awards, the organization has had to Professor Maathai herself, interviewed members of the group and that she ap- struggle financially throughout its history. the following day, when asked how the preciates being able to plant on her own The Green Belt Movement program GBM had changed since she received the small plot of land some of the seedlings works like this: Kenyan citizens, often Nobel, says: “Well, it has received a lot of the group tends so carefully. “When we women, raise seedlings and for every attention. We have received many, many plant the trees, we hope to be able to seedling that is planted on public land and people who want to know more about it. attract rain here,” she says. Both Mutu- survives, they receive five Kenya shillings It’s amazing, perhaps, because we are vi and Anna Kaloki, 23, and the mother (seven U.S. cents). Participants also can in Africa. It’s amazing that for 30 years of two, say that the income earned from earn income from planting trees and then we have been working here and many the sale of seedlings allows them to send harvesting them, whether for fuel, build- people didn’t know we existed. We have their children to school and that the proj- ing materials or food, as in fruit trees. been working with very little money. We ect, begun in January 2004, has given The GBM has a nine-acre learning still have very little money. ... That’s one them a kind of peace. As a group, Mutuvi center in the Nairobi suburb of Langata of the objectives we have is to try to fund- says, they are stronger than they would where, in a lush Eden-like setting, visi- raise, so that we can respond to the enor- be as individuals. “When you are alone, tors can stay and learn more about the mous amount of requests that I’m getting there are many things you can’t do.” GBM’s projects and processes. On arriv- from people who want to be involved.” Both Mutuvi and Kaloki—and indeed ing at the learning center, the first thing Several days later, we visit a Green every GBM project participant we meet— a visitor notices is a chorus of birdsong. Belt Movement project in the village of agree they would like to meet Wangari The second is the huge variety of color- Kiranga, in the Coast Province of Kenya, Maathai. They have heard that she has ful blooming trees and shrubs, bougainvil- whose capital is Mombasa on the Indian won a prize for her work. lea, jacaranda, kai apple and acacia. And the third, scores of butterflies fluttering LEARN MORE across the verdant landscape. After the The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience, crowds, noise and grit of Nairobi, the by Wangari Maathai, published by Lantern Books learning center, with its simple but com- The Green Belt Movement, www.greenbeltmovement.org fortable, tidy cottages, looks like heaven. Friends of the Green Belt Movement North America, www.gbmna.org The center, which contains a tree nursery The official website of Professor Wangari Maathai, www.wangarimaathai.or.ke and a demonstration garden, can also ac- The Wangari Maathai Foundation, www.wangari-maathai.org commodate overnight guests. The Nobel Peace Prize, www.nobelprize.org/peace/laureates/2004 Wanjira Mathai, Professor Maathai’s www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 13 good governance and “When I first started I didn’t start with peace. From the start, that understanding. ... I started with a very however, the Green practical response to the problems that the Belt Movement had women were identifying and explaining. But emphasized communi- as I developed, as I got engaged, as I worked ty-building as integral with these women more and more, I began to its mission. Asked to understand how the environment, when this day in 2005 wheth- it is degraded, it impacts negatively on many er community-building other issues. I also came to understand helps lead to democracy, that for the environment to be properly Maathai makes use of managed you have to have good governance. one of her favorite met- You have to have people who promote the aphors: the traditional right policies, who do the right things for three-legged African the environment.” stool. The image of the We ask if, now that she is part of the stool illustrates the ho- government, her approach to her work has listic nature of Maathai’s changed. years of work. It was this “No,” she says, “my approach to my work holistic approach that has not changed. But I’m really challenged the Nobel Committee being in the government. ... Those of us who recognized as creat- have been working in the civil society, we ing an atmosphere in move fast, we make decisions fast, we want which peace could be to see change quickly. In the government, achieved. things unfortunately work extremely slowly. Josephine Mugo, “If communities would manage their ... But I’m very happy to be in this government of the Green Belt resources,” she says, “in a way that they because this is a government that we all Movement Learning can respect the rule of law and they can re- participated in bringing to power, and so in Center, holds a spect each other, we would have fewer con- many ways it’s good to be able to say this is seedling used for flicts, and it is to that extent that the envi- what we can do rather than be shouting to demonstrations of ronment becomes one of the pieces in the tell people what they should be doing.” their work. puzzle. The three things, or the three pil- We wonder aloud what has kept her going, lars as I like to call them, are very linked. It in the face of all the obstacles—derision, is not as if you can deal with one and not the beatings, arrests. other. In fact, I have been using the three- “I think it was a realization that what I legged stool, the traditional African stool.” was doing was right. And I think I’m greatly The three legs of the traditional African assisted by the fact that I had this education, stool, she says, holding up a wooden carving and I had this education especially in the of a miniature stool that rests on her desk, sciences, and the training you get in the “represent the environment, democracy sciences is to look for reasons, not to just and peace.” Lacking any of those “legs,” deal with the symptoms. And so it has the stool cannot stand; it cannot provide always been very typical of me to want to support. For Maathai, the seat of the stool find out, Why do you think this person is represents “development, because the against what I am doing? And so I realized citizens who occupy that space feel secure; pretty early that I was actually on the they can create; they are sitting on a secure right track and that the people who were base. ... That to me is the relationship. And I obstructing me were not doing it because think that is the linkage that the Norwegian they loved the environment or they cared Nobel Committee saw. about the resources or they cared about the

14 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org people—they were doing it because they if we can, to also help to ����� were corrupt, they were selfish, they were improve the life of others.” �������� greedy and they didn’t care. So that actually She reflects for a ������ gave me the reason to continue. I just felt moment, and then says, that because I understand, I guess I’m the “Quite often happiness, ������ one who has the responsibility.” real happiness, for us hu- In her book The Green Belt Movement, man beings comes when ����� ������ ������ Maathai said that she began looking for we go beyond ourselves

God within herself. We ask her now what and we serve others. Real ������ ������� she has found. unhappiness quite often ���� � � � � � “God is in all of us. As Christians we are is found in people who �������� ������� trained to think of God as some other person. are too preoccupied with ���� We actually talk to God as if He is another themselves.” ������� person and relate to God as if He is another person. But a piece of God is in all of us, and Legacies ������ ������� ������ perhaps what we call God will become the ow in a rush, we ����� ����� consciousness that is all of us. I’ve no clue,” beg just a few more � ��� �������� N Map by Kirk Montgomery she says finally, laughing. “But all of us have minutes of Professor that voice in us, that goodness in us.” Maathai’s time so that photos can be taken. All of us have that goodness? She patiently allows us to position her so her “All of us have it. You may not use it or face catches the hazy steel-gray light from you may not discover it, but all of us have the window, to hold up various tarps and that reflection.” sheets in an effort to find a background Our session with Professor Maathai is that will conceal the utter banality of the winding to a close. Though brief, our time government office in which she works. We with her has felt less like a perfunctory give her props to hold. She holds them. She interview than like the beginning of a good-naturedly laughs when the candle long, rich conversation with a remarkable we’ve handed her flickers out and we, our teacher. We hurry to ask one or two more hands shaking, try to re-light it. of the questions her answers have raised. My Heifer colleagues and I have never What words of encouragement does she met a Nobel Peace Prize winner before, let have, for anyone really, but for women alone interviewed one or photographed in particular, women in any country who one. Meeting her has been a tremendous aren’t respected, who are not given a place experience—and it has nothing to do with in the community? her being a Nobel laureate. It has everything “Well, I think it is very important for us to do with who she is. She has given us to understand that until we get to heaven, I her time and, graciously, thoughtfully, a guess, life will always be a struggle. Life is sense of who she is, an insight into her a struggle whether you are living in a very grit, stubbornness, intelligence and plain, industrialized country, very rich country, untempered hope. In a meager exchange or if you are living in some of the most for this, I have given her my father’s desolate places on Earth. Ask anybody in arrowhead. This tiny bit of flaked stone the industrialized countries and they will is not a Nobel, but Wangari Maathai, the tell you life manages to give you challenges Tree Lady, has instinctively recognized wherever you are. So the important thing for both its beauty and its worth. It couldn’t be us is to take advantage of the opportunity in better hands. that life gives us and try to use those She thanks us for visiting her. And she opportunities to improve our own life and, means it.

www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 15 Carolina Aguilar visits with her mother, Teresa Aguilar, in Taxipehuatl while she crushes corn to make tortillas for her family. Teresa helps her daughter care for the household because Carolina’s husband leaves for months at a time to find work in the city.

The Power of Tradition Mexico’s Indigenous People Reclaim Their Dignity

By Sherri Nelson UETZALAN, MEXICO— digenous and mestizo people selling Heifer Staff Writer in the tropical mountain- their handmade goods, vegetables ous area of the Northern and tropical flowers to locals and for- Photos by Sierra region of Puebla, eign tourists. A 19th century Renais- Darcy Kiefel CMexico, lies Cuetzalan, a picturesque sance-style cathedral towers over the and Sherri Nelson market town growing in popular- town square, a sentinel professing the ity for ecotourism and cave explora- historical importance of this colorful tion. Steeped in Totonac and Nahua community. cultures, Cuetzalan is known for its Traveling higher into the mountain cobblestoned streets filled with in- villages, the charm of Cuetzalan fades

16 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org into the background, and a palpable and dedication, they still face such going to trainings, I’ve learned more air of poverty hangs over the hillsides horrific problems with poverty and about the traditional foods of my peo- where the indigenous people of this malnutrition,” said Alejandro Lopez ple. We are reclaiming our tradition- region have made their homes. Their Musalem, director of Heifer Mexico. al knowledge of foods and medicine. challenges are many, their resources “We must show the world that we can We are recovering this information few. Most have no electricity or all learn a lot while gaining a better and taking advantage of the years of running water, and many homes are understanding from our indigenous experience of our grandparents and shoddily built with readily available people—especially the women, be- their traditional remedies. We are try- materials. In a day-to-day struggle cause they have knowledge and un- ing to restore this knowledge by work- for dignified survival, many families derstanding of food issues, their en- ing with a doctor who knows the tra- in these communities face more than vironment and medicinal plants to ditional ways.” the hunger that gnaws their children’s help their families and children.” A group of PROAN promoters, bellies; they live in fear of losing the indigenous women specially trained traditional knowledge and culture of Relearning the Old Ways to teach local families about nutrition their ancestors. ivian Guzman lives For more than a decade, Programa Vin the community de Apoyo Nutricional A.C. (PROAN), of Taxipehuatl with her a local nonprofit organization, has husband and son. They worked with the indigenous people have a small concrete of the Cuetzalan region. Co-directors home with a tin roof, a Emma Flores Galvan and Angeles modest backyard gar- Bordas Torres have helped women in den and chickens pro- 20 communities build support systems, vided by Heifer. Her which include seven headquarters son, Jose Guadalupe, where families can attend classes suffers from frequent that are closest to where they live. In upper respiratory in- addition to emergency food assistance, fections. PROAN provides medical care, school “PROAN has helped fees for children, cooking classes and me with my child. They agricultural training. provided doctors who “One of the major problems checked his height and in these communities is that the weight,” Guzman said. poorest families are marginalized. “My son received the We work to ensure these families get checkups he needed the long-term support they need,” for his health. PROAN Galvan said. also provided cooking Through a partnership with workshops, where I Heifer International, 50 families in learned about nutrition PROAN’s program received chickens and healthier ways of and animal management training. cooking. I now know Both organizations are working to which foods provide help indigenous families become self- the best nutrients.” sufficient and to recover and preserve Guzman lamented the traditional knowledge of their losing the traditional people. knowledge that had Oscar, Juanito and Diana Ramos of Xiloco enjoy caring “These families are trying to keep sustained her ances- for the family’s egg-laying chickens, which provide a their language, environment and cul- tors. “Since I’ve become much-needed source of protein for their family, one of the ture alive. With all their hard work a member and started poorest in the community. www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 17 ����� ������� � ��� ��������� ������

������ ������ �������� heal my son, I started using the our tradition of working in the fields ������ traditional medicines for him,” with our hands and living with our ����� Guzman said. “Whenever he gets a culture. If you dedicate yourself, you cough, I make a tea with the flower can live on culture, tradition and our � � � � � � and cinnamon and it makes him land.” better. I don’t use the conventional PROAN promoter Ernestina Cruz ������ medicines anymore.” agreed with Aguilar. “New genera- � � � � � � Carolina Aguilar lives in the tions are leaving the community be- ���� same community as Guzman, and cause they can’t find jobs, especially �� ������� participates in PROAN’s program too. those who study. They think ‘I didn’t ������ �����

Map by Kirk Montgomery She has four children: two daughters, study to continue to do field work.’ 12 and 9, and two boys, 7 and 4. Whenever we get land to work, it be- and health issues, helps women Aguilar fears younger generations are comes a problem because there is like Guzman. Promoter Jacquelina quickly losing touch with and pride in no one around to help. When young Posadas explained that Guzman’s their indigenous heritage, a situation people leave for the city, they lose situation was like many others in the exacerbated by a lack of employment their indigenous identity and change community. that drives their young people to low- their way of dressing. They become “The people here started using wage jobs in the city. ashamed of speaking Nahuatl and modern medicines that are more “When our indigenous people go stop speaking to others in our com- expensive. Some doctors would to other places to work, we face wage munity.” tell us that conventional medicine discrimination,” she said. “Many would heal us better and faster. For of our younger generations leave Leaving for Jobs example, they would give us a pill the community because there is no s families struggle to maintain for a headache, but then we would work or money here. They do not Atheir indigenous traditions and get stomachaches,” Posadas said. want to work in the fields. When cultures, another problem continues “The costs of those medicines were they return from the cities, they to tear families apart—lack of a burden for our families. And the have lost their cultural identity and employment. Many fathers, and often cost of transportation to town to are ashamed to speak their native mothers too, leave their families to see a doctor was also a problem. We tongue,” Aguilar said as she cast a work in the city and send money home. now are relearning which plants are hopeful glance toward her youngest Migration has spawned a generation best for remedies. We are growing son, Berna. of single-parent families, often headed them and now we don’t have costs for medicines. My family always uses traditional medicines.” “Many of our younger generations leave the community Guzman added, “I used to always because there is no work or money here. They do not use conventional medicines because want to work in the fields. When they return from the my family had lost the knowledge of traditional remedies. I am very happy cities, they have lost their cultural identity and are now. My son used to get sick a lot from ashamed to speak their native tongue.”—Carolina Aguilar bronchitis. He was under treatment with conventional medicine, but it She smiled as determination by mothers or grandmothers. Carolina didn’t help him. But then I learned spread across her face. “PROAN and Aguilar’s family is one of many single- how to use traditional medicines Heifer are working with the younger parent homes in her community. Her made from native flowers like the children and showing them the beauty husband migrated to Puebla, where he purple ones growing outside of my of our tradition. With projects like works and lives at a construction site. home.” this one, I hope our children will stay He visits home only one or two days a “I used to always sell those flowers, here, work in the fields and not move month because he cannot afford the but when I learned how they could to the city. We must keep interest in bus or taxi fare.

18 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org “Most of the men in this community go to the city for work,” Aguilar said. “There is work to do here, but there is no money to pay the workers. My husband works in Puebla. I used to prepare special meals when I thought he was coming home, but I never know when he will come home anymore. He sends money with friends that come back on the bus. It’s most difficult for my husband to not be able to visit every week because it is so expensive to travel home. He really misses the children, but he says he can’t pay for the children’s school if stays here.” “It’s sad to be alone, especially for the children because they miss their PROAN co-directors Angeles Bordas Torres and Emma Flores Galvan visit with Francesca father. They know they have a father, Lopez in Cuauhtamazaco about the health of her grandchild. The baby is underweight and but they never get to be with him. The has trouble eating because of a cleft palate. children start asking why their dad doesn’t come home. When he does when he’s not at home. Whenever he a tattered mattress in this place they visit, they beg him not to leave. They is drunk, my children are afraid of call home. PROAN and Heifer are really miss having a father figure. him. He wants to be close to them, helping the Ramos family improve And it’s hard on me because I have to but they run away.” the children’s nutrition. be father and mother.” With a small house filled with The Ramos children, with their In the community of Cuauh- hungry children, an alcoholic bright, smiling faces, are the children tamazaco, Francesca Lopez knows husband and a grandchild with a cleft of hope. “I like to see the hens lay eggs all too well how hard it is to be the palate whom she cares for, Lopez because they come when we have no head of the household and make needs all the support she can get. She food. I like to know that we will have enough money to support a family. said PROAN had made a dramatic something to eat,” said Oscar, 9, the A mother of seven, she is the sole difference in her life, and helped eldest of the Ramos children. provider. Unlike the Aguilar family, her make it through the tough times. PROAN and Heifer have helped poverty didn’t force her husband to “This program has helped me so much. this family increase their ability to migrate to the city for work—it drove We can eat the eggs or I can sell one feed themselves, and the hunger him into the mire of alcoholism. egg for one peso. I have benefited with that Oscar and his siblings knew so “My husband does live here, but this project and the extra income for well has been replaced with hope for he gets drunk every single day,” my family. I have also received a lot a better future—and a world full of Lopez said. “I am the one who has of personal support from the people possibilities. Oscar now sees beyond to support my family. I wash other I’ve met. It has changed my life.” the struggles of his family and has people’s clothes to earn extra money. dreams of becoming a lawyer. Sometimes my husband will work, A Child Has Hope Why a lawyer? Oscar explained but he rarely shares his money. He ne of the poorest indigenous that he wants to give back to the mostly spends what little he earns on Ofamilies in this area lives in the community. “I want to help other alcohol,” Lopez confided as she cast small community of Xiloco. Virginia people,” he said with a shy grin. It is her dark eyes toward the ground. Ramos, her husband and her four this kind of dedication that will keep “When he comes home drunk, he children live in a tiny, one-room this village’s indigenous cultures always wants to fight. I tell him to leave, wooden structure with a dirt floor and traditions alive for generations but then I worry what happens to him and an unstable roof. They all share to come. www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 19 Hurricanes Katrina, Rita Hit Heifer Projects

ne of the toughest things to deal back to normal,” Heifer President and CEO with in the wake of Hurricane Jo Luck said. “It’s an enormous, essential and Katrina was the uncertainty. With long-term job, and we are committed to see it phone lines down, cell towers through to the end.” Oout of commission and roads washed away, it Hurricanes are a fact of life along the was hard to figure out who had survived, who coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, needed help and how much rebuilding would where warm waters feed tropical storm systems have to be done. and low-lying land offers up an open road for Heifer International is a partner in more destruction. Perhaps Katrina was inevitable than two dozen projects in the areas hardest and not unexpected, but her punch knocked hit by Katrina. But with communication lines the entire region down all the same. down and roads impassable, Heifer staff and At least 17 Heifer projects are reeling from project participants were still trying to contact the high winds and water that came along each other more than a week after the disaster with the Aug. 29 storm. Cattle and goat farm- crashed ashore. The relief and recovery ers lost the fences that pen in their animals, efforts in Katrina’s wake were compounded and community gardens were washed away. Sept. 24 when a second storm, Hurricane An untold amount of hay and other feed was Rita, ripped through the already weakened soaked and ruined. Falling trees damaged region, causing more flooding, wind damage barns. and misery for the weary survivors of a brutal Emily King knows she has lots of work ahead hurricane season. of her, but she doesn’t know just how much or exactly where it will be. A field coordinator “We want to do everything we can to help these hard-working for Heifer projects in southern Louisiana, families clear the debris, rebuild what was damaged and get King was still trying to get a handle on the their lives back to normal. It’s an enormous, essential and long- disaster well into September. Two weeks after term job, and we are committed to see it through to the end.” the storm, she still hadn’t heard from project —Heifer International President and CEO Jo Luck participants near the Louisiana coast. “The ones further south, in New Orleans “We know some of what happened, but we and Plaquemines Parish, I have no idea when won’t be able to give an idea of the scope until I’ll hear from them,” she said. “They won’t be we can get in there. That’s not currently a able to communicate with the outside world feasible option,” said Steve Muntz, director of unless they drive out of there.” Heifer’s North America Program. Speaking King’s job got even harder on Sept. 24 10 days after Hurricane Katrina, Muntz said when Hurricane Rita whipped ashore along he expected it would be another week before the Texas-Louisiana coastline. The storm all Heifer project participants in the Gulf stalled Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery regions of Louisiana and Mississippi were efforts for days and made its own unwelcome accounted for. mark on the region. Heifer is working quickly to help. The goal Electricity went out and floodwaters is to raise $1 million to help Heifer project rose in southwest Louisiana, an area that participants in the region rebuild their work had escaped the worst of Katrina. Rita hit and their lives. the Southwest Louisiana Livestock project “We want to do everything we can to help near Crowley hard, pulling down trees and these hard-working families clear the debris, shredding fences. rebuild what was damaged and get their lives Among the most damaged Heifer project

20 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org By Austin Gelder Hurricanes Katrina, Rita Hit Heifer Projects HEIFER STAFF WRITER

sites is a Native American fishing communi- ty in southeast Louisiana settled on marsh- Heifer International 1. Washington Parish land between a Mississippi riverbank levee Projects Impacted Beef Growers and a secondary hurricane levee. Even be- by Hurricanes 2. St. Helena Beef fore Katrina hit, the project participants’ Cattle Project homes were accessible only by boat. Heif- Katrina and Rita MISSISSIPPI 3. Beef Cattle er International is helping members of the 14 Assistance Program community earn their livelihoods by raising 4. Grand Bayou bait minnows. Families United The Grand Bayou community tradition- 10 ally rode out major storms in shrimp boats 5. Bogue Chitto 15 Self-Help Livestock by steering northward and inland to safety. 6 Program But this time, they knew the environmen- LOUISIANA Jackson tal degradation that’s been claiming more 6. Madison County 11 Livestock and more land in the Mississippi River Delta 13 7 16 Improvement would leave them too vulnerable. 5 8 The Mississippi River once flooded 12 7. Covington County 9 Self-Help Project frequently, depositing silt that built up the 2 1 land. But levees built along the river over 3 8. Marion County Baton Rouge the last century now prevent the Mississippi 17 Livestock Project New Orleans from flooding its banks. As the soft soil along 9. Greene County the river is compacted and no sediment is 4 Livestock deposited to build it up again, the land sinks. Improvement Map by Pooi Yin Chong Association Shallow marshes that would absorb much of the wind and water that come along with a 10. Winston County storm are gone, taken over by the river or and Mississippi, but few animals are ex- Self-Help Association the ocean. pected to be lost in part because so many “As land loss goes on in the marshes trees fell that the animals remained fenced 11. Simpson County there’s more and more open water,” King in by the piles of timber. Much of that tim- Livestock Enterprise said. “They were afraid of this storm.” ber represents a lost opportunity for small- 12. Perry County With this in mind, only a few older scale farmers who were cultivating trees for Self-Help Project members of the Grand Bayou community income. 13. Delta Initiatives boarded shrimp boats to ride out Katrina. “We’ve probably got over $3 million worth Farm-to-School The rest packed into cars and headed for of timber on the ground,” Jones said. Program high ground in Houma, La. But even in the thick of the disaster and 14. Bolivar County Initial reports of how the Grand Bayou with so much cleanup to be done, some are Livestock Project community fared during Katrina have been beginning to view Hurricane Katrina as an 15. Beat IV Farmers’ disheartening. opportunity for a fresh start. With lots of Livestock “I’m really afraid they don’t have any help and ingenuity, projects can be rebuilt Cooperative homes left,” King said. to be more productive than they were before, 16. Wayne County Conditions seem slightly better for most Jones said. Diversified Livestock of the projects in Mississippi, said Roger “I personally would like us to look at this Project Jones, field manager for the south-central as an opportunity to go beyond where they 17. Southwest Louisiana region. were, not just to get them back to the status Livestock Project Fences were downed in both Louisiana quo,” he said.

www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 21 HOPE FOR THE FUTURE CAMPAIGN

t Heifer International, our hopes—and Aour goals—are higher than ever. Heifer plans to extend hope to 23 million people during this decade. e Between 2000 and 2010

r Heifer International will assist:

● 1 million families u —that’s 4.5 million t men, women, boys and girls—to receive animals, including pass-ons, and training in environmentally-sound farming, improved u animal management, gender equity and community development. F ● 1.4 million additional families or 6.5

million people, to receive training in environmentally-sound farming, improved e animal management, gender equity and community development. h ● And 2.6 million more families—12.5 t million people—to receive signifi cant other

benefi ts as a consequence of Heifer’s work.

r ● In addition, Heifer will substantially increase its efforts to educate the public

o about issues surrounding world hunger, poverty and the environment, and promote f ways for each person to make a difference.

Therefore, between 2000 and 2010,

e Heifer International will assist, directly or indirectly, 5 million families—23 million men, women, boys and girls— p towards achieving sustainable income and food security in an equitable and o environmentally sound manner. To fi nd out more, call (800) 422-0474 or visit www.heifer.org. H HOPE FOR THE FUTURE CAMPAIGN The Café of Miracles My Breakfast With Eliot

ot long ago, on a Saturday ried about dysentery, morning, I took my young son cholera or, for that mat- Eliot for breakfast. We went to ter, bubonic plague, po- a small café across from the city lio, smallpox, diphtheria Nzoo. While you couldn’t see much from the or a host of other killer window, we knew that the bears lived in diseases. the caves just beyond the trees. And every Many people in the so often, the zoo train chugged by on its café had just voted in a rambling path around the property. national election. They But it was what was in the café that caught had been able to actually my attention. choose the people who For at the very next table were another best represented their father and son having breakfast together. views and interests, to And they were African-American. Yet they pick who would shape were eating alongside whites, without fear of the laws we all agreed to being arrested, harassed or attacked. live under. And it wasn’t just the white male By Tom Peterson As I looked around, contemplating this, I property owners who had the right to vote. Vice President of saw that all the other patrons seemed to be Women did too, as did every citizen over 18. Communications able to read their menus. They had all gone And many had gone to places of worship and Marketing to school, most of them for free. In fact, just that week. They had hundreds of places a few blocks past the zoo was a library where to go. No law told them which religion to anyone could borrow books—at no charge. follow. Not one person in the café paid a tax Our waitress—along with the cooks and to support a church. dishwashers—was guaranteed to make a Two tables over, a family of four was minimum amount of money each hour. speaking Spanish. They had come from The kitchen, which we could see through a country south of our border that had re- a swinging door, was clean and bright. cently held an open national election. Next The owner of the place was required by to them, a couple was complaining about law to set reasonable working hours and some proposed state law. But they didn’t safe conditions. There was a whole system seem worried that anyone would overhear. set up to protect the building from fi res. I unfolded a newspaper that someone Remarkably, no children were allowed to had left on a chair. On the front page was work in the café. a story about a country that, in its fi rst free Eliot ordered pancakes and I ordered election, had elected new offi cials to replace an omelet. The waitress placed two glasses a long-standing, corrupt administration. of water on the table, and we drank from Around the world, entire nations were choos- them without worrying that we would get ing their own governments. And there was a sick from some unseen microbe. Before the global forum in which countries discussed food arrived, Eliot went to wash his hands. their differences and their challenges. The café had restrooms with clean running The waitress came by with our breakfast. water, and a system under the streets car- The eggs and vegetables in my omelet were ried off the waste. No one in the café wor- from local farmers, produced without

www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 23 New ideas come from somewhere. Sometimes they come from individuals, sometimes they come from the endless work of small groups, and sometimes they come at the insistence of millions. It is our job as citizens to encourage these ideas, to make room a few who had ultimately giv- for the voices of innovation and dissent, the voices that contend en) their lives to end poverty that even if we cannot imagine it, the future is full of miracles. in their corner of the world. I thought of the incredible glob- the worst pesticides such as DDT. These al spread of grassroots democracy and the harmful pesticides of a few decades before mushrooming of literally millions of non- had almost disappeared from use. A few profit organizations working for a better hundred miles to the south, thousands of life for all. brown pelicans once again flew in straight New ideas come from somewhere. Some- lines down the beaches of the Gulf Coast. times they come from individuals, some- Eliot and I talked and ate our breakfast times they come from the endless work of as the zoo train went by a few more times. small groups, and sometimes they come at And it struck me: If I had gone out with my the insistence of millions. It is our job as citi- dad when I was Eliot’s age, the scene in the zens to encourage these ideas, to make room café would have been completely different. for the voices of innovation and dissent, the I remembered the “Whites Only” water voices that contend that even if we cannot fountains and restrooms. And there would imagine it, the future is full of miracles. have been scores of other, less obvious My mind wanders back to a quote from differences as well. Martin Luther King Jr.: “I have the audacity Had my dad and his father gone for to believe that people everywhere can have breakfast when he was a boy, they would three meals a day for their bodies, education have seen an even different picture, one even and culture for their minds, and dignity, less inclusive, with fewer opportunities. And equality and freedom for their spirits.” when my grandfather was as young as Eliot, These are not easy times—but times have accompanied by my great-grandfather, he never been easy. They weren’t for my father would have seen almost nothing that Eliot or my grandfather or my great-grandfa- and I saw in the Café of Miracles. ther. And in the last few years we, even in In fact, most of the things that Eliot the rich and powerful nation that is the and I took completely for granted would United States, have seen much to break our have been considered impossible in my hearts—but we have also seen much that, grandfather’s or great-grandfather’s day. if we’ll only pause to consider, can fill our The miracle was how they had come to be hearts to bursting with hope. considered at all. In a few decades, when Eliot takes his Our press (free to speak about anything, young child or grandchild for breakfast one by the way) makes much of the golly-gee Saturday morning, I hope, I have the au- advances in science and technology. And dacity to believe, that he too will see, will there is no shortage of amazing things: perhaps even take for granted, new every- shrinking computer chips, remarkable day miracles. I hope, I have the audacity to medical advancements, discoveries of believe, that these miracles will continue to planets orbiting distant stars. build upon themselves, cascading through But as we were walking out of the café, the future, swelling into bigger miracles. my thoughts turned to something just as And I hope, I have the audacity to believe, remarkable: the people I’d met in the Phil- that the Café of Miracles will have grown, ippines, South Africa, Central America that it will be brighter, that it will be full to and elsewhere, who had often risked (and bursting, that it will never close.

24 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org The Most Important Gift Catalog in the World For a World Make This a Meaningful Holiday Without Hunger Take part in a growing holiday tradition by giving gifts that help those in need. he gift of self-reliance is a gift that never Here’s how: stops giving. Instead of material gifts, choose gifts from this catalog T to honor your friends, family or business associates— When you give through this catalog, you make it gifts that help struggling families lift themselves out of poverty. You can also use the catalog to make a regular possible for women and charitable gift. Use one of the easy ordering options below. men around the world to help themselves build better Four Easy Ways to Give lives, feed and school their children, and provide 1. Call toll free 3. Order online: shelter from the storms of poverty and hunger. (800) 698-2511 www.catalog.heifer.org Plus, your gift in honor of someone on your 24 hours a day, 7 days a 24 hours a day, 7 days a holiday list enables your friends or loved ones to be week. Credit card orders week. Download beautiful part of making a positive difference in the world. only, please. Fill out print and email honor cards the order form for and pass along interactive And isn’t that what this season is all your records. email cards to friends. about? Bringing joy to the world? That’s why your thoughtful act of generosity on 2. Fax (501) 907-2902 4. Mail the completed behalf of those in need of hope and nourishment is 24 hours a day, 7 days order form with your sure to bring a smile to the faces of those you honor. a week. Fax the completed check to: order form; keep for your Heifer International And one day, the children and parents who records. Include credit card P. O. Box 1692 receive your gifts of livestock and training will also information. Merrifield, VA 22116-1692 know the same feeling of unselfish giving when they pass on a gift of livestock and training to another struggling family. This “passing on the gift” event The prices in this catalog represent the complete livestock gift of a high-quality animal, technical assistance and extensive is key to the success of all Heifer programs. training. Each purchase from this catalog represents a contribution Since 1944, Heifer International has worked to the entire mission of Heifer International. Donations will to bring help, healing and hope to millions of be used where needed most to help struggling people. Heifer International is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. impoverished families worldwide. In fact, during its first 60 years Heifer has assisted seven million What Your Honoree Receives... families—38 million women, men, girls and boys. This year, instead of sending material gifts to your friends Heifer works exclusively in the area of livestock and family, present them with this beautifully designed gift and agriculture to develop programs that alleviate card letting them know that, in their names, you’ve given hunger and poverty. Our field staff is comprised the gift of self-reliance to a struggling family. The card of highly trained specialists, and our programs are explains Heifer’s mission and how the gift you made in considered among the most successful in the world. their honor will make a difference to a family in need. So with this catalog, you have a unique opportunity to help the less fortunate. Many giving options are available. With your loyal and devoted help, this year we can accomplish more than ever. Thank you for helping to end hunger and Gift Card Delivery Options: build a world full of joy this holiday season. Fastest: Fast: Standard: Order online at For an additional Order before www.catalog. charge, we’ll December 9, and heifer.org, then ship your cards receive delivery select and print to you 2nd Day in two to four Jo Luck one of the cards Air or Next Day weeks from President and CEO provided or send Air (telephone Heifer’s receipt an email honor orders only). of order, via U.S. card electronically Postal Service. to your honoree. 26 Call (800) 698-2511 Heifers ... Gift of a Heifer: $500 the Gentle Share of a Heifer: Gift of Hope $50 good dairy cow can produce up to four gallons of milk a day—enough for a family A to drink, share with neighbors … and still have enough left over to sell at the market. The protein in cow’s milk can transform sick, malnourished children into healthy boys and girls. The sale of surplus milk earns money for school fees, medicine, clothing and home improvements. And when cow’s manure is applied to gardens, even a small plot of land can yield a marvelous bounty. What’s more, since a healthy cow can give birth to one calf every year, your gift of a heifer and training in its care can be passed on many times over and quickly help entire communities move from poverty to self-reliance. That’s why, as you make out your holiday giving list this year, we hope there will be a heifer on it … Since receiving this heifer from a friend like you, Knarik Khachatryan your powerful gift of love and hope to a waiting world. from Ptghavyan, Armenia, has renewed hope for the future.

TheThe GGoatsoats wwithith ou may think of goats as stubborn or ornery … but in fact they are gentle Y enough that in countries all around the Most Gift of a the world, it is often children who are in : $120 charge of their tending and feeding. Goat Goats are able to thrive in extreme climates $10 Share of a Goat: and on poor, dry land by feasting on grass and leaves that other livestock won’t eat. Your gift of a dairy goat and training can supply a desperate family with up to four quarts of nutritious milk a day—that’s a ton of milk a year! Extra milk can be sold or used to make cheese, butter or yogurt. And families learn to use goat manure to fertilize gardens. Plus, because goats often have two or three kids a year, Heifer partners can lift themselves out of poverty by starting small dairies that pay for food, health care and education. Those are just a few of the reasons why more children around the world rely on goats’ milk than milk from any other animal,

Collins Yao (left) and Mabel Bafua of Ghana hold the goat that is the key to and why your holiday kindness will go on their future. and on when you give a gift of a goat!

www.catalog.heifer.org 27 Gift of a Sheep...a Lifeline to the Future! Sheep : $ ou can help many hungry families through the Share of a Sheep:120 gift of Heifer International’s high-quality breed $10 Y of this hardy animal and training in its care. Through our controlled breeding programs, Heifer provides sheep that produce a thicker, warmer wool than local stock so struggling families have more sheep’s wool to make clothes, or sell for extra income. Sheep are perfect for many Heifer families because they can graze even the hilliest, rockiest pastures unsuitable for other livestock. Many families use managed grazing techniques or keep their sheep in zero-grazing pens to protect the environment and permit efficient collection of manure for fertilizer that improves soil and pasture land. And since sheep often give birth to twins or triplets, your generosity quickly spreads as one family passes-on the gift of newborn sheep to other needy families in their community. More and more proof that Heifer sheep—like Nine-year-old Benjamin Cutiopala Paltan from Ecuador, posing here with his Heifer International sheep, says, “On Saturday and Sunday, the generous people who give them—are a special I am the family shepherd. I always help my father in the fi elds and breed and the perfect gift for this holiday season! because of this program, when I am big, I will be a good farmer.”

Gift of a Chicks Make an Egg-cellent Gift! : $20 Sheep $10 ood things certainly do come in small packages! Share of a Sheep: Packed with protein, just one egg is a Gnutritious gift for a hungry child. And since a single hen can lay more than 200 eggs a year, your gift of chicks through Heifer International will buy literally hundreds of healthy meals for an impoverished family. We help many hungry families with a starter flock of 10 to 50 chicks, so there are plenty of eggs not only to eat, but also to share with neighbors, to let hatch, or to sell at the market for desperately needed income. Because chickens need very little space, thrive on readily available feed or even pests like insects, and don’t require a lot of investment, a family can quickly realize their benefits. Plus, their droppings can be used to fertilize gardens to increase the productivity of the soil and further improve children’s diets. That’s why chicks are often the perfect match Julie Ann Lubisyo, from the Philippines (left, 9 years old), is pictured here with her two friends from the CHiLD project. Julie Ann for the most impoverished families we help. says, “I know now how to take very good care of my chickens. With So if you’re looking for gifts for friends tender loving care, I am happy and want other girls like me to take or co-workers that show you really care, care of chickens and their families. I want to increase my chickens because I want to share and give many away.” give the gift of chicks this year!

28 Call (800) 698-2511 For a Friend in Need, Gift of a : $150 a Llama Can Be a Llama $20 Friend Indeed! Share of a Llama:

t home in rough, mountainous areas of Latin America, llamas—and their kin the alpaca—are A a blessing to families living high above sea level. They are remarkably disease-resistant and require little care, they can carry small loads for long distances over rugged slopes at high altitudes, and will eat the native scrub vegetation that other domesticated animals won’t eat. Moreover, llama droppings help fertilize topsoil—improving crops and reducing erosion. But llamas and alpacas also provide Heifer families with invaluable sources of transportation and income from the sale of wool, which is prized for making blankets, ponchos, carpet and rope. The llama is a gift that shows a remarkable understanding of the world and its people. It’s a gift that shows you care … and it’ll make a wonderful story to tell the people you love this holiday season! Juvenal Ichuta Suricallo with his alpaca in Chiligua, Peru.

Gift of Tree : $60 Generosity Seedlings $10 Share of Seedlings: Takes Root hen you think of Heifer International, you probably think first of animals. WBut trees are actually some of the most important gifts on earth. In many countries where we provide assistance, soil erosion is a significant problem. Harsh weather, warfare, even poor crop management, can leave the topsoil barren and contribute to erosion, mudslides and worse. Planting trees, with help from Heifer International, makes the difference— and helps make the earth productive again. In Ecuador, Heifer International is teaching innovative farming and irrigation techniques that include the planting of trees on “terraces,” or hillsides. As the roots take hold, they protect the precious earth and discourage runoff. They help improve soil quality, too. And they look magnificent!

Jacinto and his daughter at their family nursery. They’re using these tree A holiday gift that will grow and give happiness seedlings to help restore their surrounding Guatemalan forest. for years to come is a thoughtful gift, indeed!

www.catalog.heifer.org 29 Gift of : Honey Bees: The Honeybees $30 Sweetest Gift of All gift of bees is a gift of opportunity. Placed strategically, a beehive can as A much as double some fruit and vegetable yields. In this way, a beehive can be a boost to a whole village. Beehives require almost no space, and once established, are inexpensive to maintain. That’s why Heifer International is eager to provide many struggling families with a package of bees, the box and hive, plus training in beekeeping. While most Heifer partners keep bees as a supplement to family income through the sale of honey, beeswax and pollen, beekeeping often becomes a family’s livelihood. So surprise your friends this holiday

Susanna Mashkovich from Hermon, Armenia, wears protective with the latest buzz: the gift of honeybees to gear to work the hives she received through Heifer International. help needy families around the world.

a Gift of The Wonders of Water Buffalo : $250 Water Buffalo $25 single water buffalo can lead a hungry family out Share of a Water Buffalo: A of poverty and give them a chance for a bright future filled with hope and free from hunger. Water buffalo from Heifer provide draft power for planting rice and potatoes, milk for protein and manure for fertilizer and fuel. In fact, a farmer can plant FOUR TIMES more rice with a buffalo than by hand! And a water buffalo can haul heavy loads to the market — where the sale of extra produce brings in vital income for clothing, medicine and school. Plus, by renting their buffalo to neighbors, Heifer families can earn even more money for home improvements or a variety of livestock. It’s a family affair in the Phillipines as Bagwan, Loge and their two sons pose with So this year, give a gift that helps to solve a greater need in the world, their Heifer water buffalo and her new calf. while expressing your warm wishes in a very special way. A water buffalo is a gift that’s hard to wrap, but it “opens” up a whole world of possibilities!

30 Call (800) 698-2511 eifer animals are like “living savings accounts” for struggling families, and the Piglets Make Perfect Hpig may well be the most interest-bearing. When you donate a pig, you give a family Presents! Gift of a a valuable source of protein, income from the sale of animal offspring and natural Pig: $120 fertilizer to nourish crops and soil. Share of a Pig:$ 10 Pigs need little land and can thrive on crop and garden by-product scraps. So farmers who may not have the land or the grasses to feed cows are often able to raise pigs, which can stay penned and gladly subsist on scraps. Pigs also reproduce well and grow to market weight quickly. An average sow can provide a family with up to 16 piglets a year. Pigs usually double their three-pound birth weight in their first week and can grow to more than 200 pounds in six months! So if you’re looking for a gift idea with the power to lift a poor family out of poverty, Mit Am introduces her new Heifer pig to her this year think big … and give a pig. grandchildren at their home in Cambodia.

Ducks and Geese Bring Relief Gift of : uck and goose Ducks & Geese eggs may not be $20 Dcommon where you live, but in many places they form the cornerstone of a healthy diet, and millions of children rely on them for protein every day. Ducks are easy to care for, their droppings enrich gardens, and they even help control weeds and insects. Plus, through the sale of eggs and animal offspring, ducks and geese provide valuable income Dan Chen at Mr. Zonglin Zhou’s duck hatchery in Xiang Quan, China opportunities for families struggling to survive. The Precious Gift of Rabbits Trio of trio of rabbits and training from Heifer International Rabbits: $60 is a low-cost, high-yield gift that helps impoverished families increase their protein intake and income. Share of a Rabbit:$ 10 A Rabbits are easy to care for, they eat simple foods such as carrot tops, sweet potato vines and grasses; and their manure can be applied directly on gardens without composting. And, of course, because rabbits have so many offspring, the Januka Bista from process of passing on the gift multiplies your original gift quickly Nepal strokes one of and helps many other impoverished families better their lives. the Angora rabbits her mother received What better way to share the joy of the holidays through Heifer. than to give a trio of rabbits to a struggling family.

www.catalog.heifer.org 31 Heifer International Ark is an extraordinary Changing the World gift. If you or your business or organization A are wondering how you can do more with your giving—how you can change the Gift of Two by Two world—this is the opportunity for you. Your Gift Ark goes around the world. Latin an Ark: America, Africa, Asia, Europe, North America. Where $5,000 we find hunger, poverty, hopelessness and misery, we answer with Heifer animals and training … and discover, through our efforts, the “olive branch” that grows from encouraging peace and opportunity. What does the gift of an Ark mean? It means ... oxen, donkeys and water buffalo … cows, sheep and goats … even bees, chicks and rabbits, and more … healthy, hardy animals that will go forth and multiply, improving lives for countless families and children, and “passing on” your spirit of faith and charity over and over again. A whole “Ark-ful” of hope and happiness … setting sail for the places in the world where your generosity, kindness and vision are needed most. To discuss ways that your company, civic organization, congregation or family can give the Gift of the Ark during this holiday season from Heifer International, please call the number below … and say, “I want to help change the world.”

Gift Ark animals may include:

2 COWS 2 OXEN 2 BEEHIVES 2 TRIOS OF DUCKS 2 FLOCKS OF GEESE To bring milk To pull plows and To help families in To help families in To help families in China and income to a carts in Uganda. Kentucky earn money Ghana generate income better their nutrition Russian village. through the sale of through the sale of and income through the honey and beeswax. eggs and birds. production of eggs and meat.

2 SHEEP 2 WATER BUFFALO 2 GOATS 2 TRIOS OF RABBITS 2 FLOCKS OF CHICKS To help families To help Indonesian To help Guatemalan To provide food and To help families in South in New Mexico families increase rice families provide milk income for families Africa improve nutrition produce wool. production through for their children and in North Korea. and generate income animal draft power. earn extra income. through the sale of eggs.

2 CAMELS 2 PIGS 2 DONKEYS 2 TRIOS OF 2 LLAMAS To help families in To enable families To supply animal GUINEA PIGS To improve livestock Kenya earn income by in Cambodia to draft power To help families in Peru bloodlines and produce transporting agricultural attain greater for farmers add protein to their diets wool and income for and industrial materials. self-reliance. in Tanzania. and increase income. Bolivian families.

The price of a Gift Ark includes the purchase/transport of high-quality animals and the training/support that Heifer International gives recipients. Contributions to the Gift Ark program represent a contribution to the entire mission of 32 Call (800) 698-2511 Heifer. Donations will be used where needed most. Heifer is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The extended Keller family stands with Heifer International CEO Jo Luck and an artist’s rendering of the Polly Murphy and Christoph Keller Jr. Education Center. Polly Murphy, in pale blue, stands beside the rendering; to her right is her son, the Rev. Christoph Keller III. “To Help People Live, and Live Abundantly” Keller Family Gives $3.5 Million for Education Center

By Lauren Wilcox hen the Keller family does something, they do it together. On a hot day in World Ark Associate Editor August, the children, grandchildren and great-grandchild of Polly Murphy Keller Winter and the late Rt. Rev. Christoph Keller Jr., arrived in Little Rock, Ark., from points around the country to honor the pair with a gift to WHeifer International. Given by Winter and Bishop Keller’s six children—the Rev. Christoph Keller III, Caroline Theus, Cornelia Keller, Cynthia Davis, Kathryn Anderson and Elisabeth Keller— the gift of $3.5 million is the largest individual gift Heifer has ever received. It will be used toward the construction of a new world hunger education center, the Polly Murphy and Christoph Keller Jr. Education Center, adjacent to Heifer’s new headquarters in downtown Little Rock. The education center will serve as a hub for public forums and educational activities and will eventually be the gateway to Heifer’s planned Global Village. The building will also serve as an enduring tribute to a couple who lived their lives with a deep sense of responsibility and faith and passed those values on to their children. The gift will especially, said the Rev. Christoph Keller III, recognize their mother, who traveled to Little Rock from her home in New York City to accept the gift made in her honor. Polly Winter and Christoph Keller Jr., who was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas from 1967 to 1981, were both active in their community and abroad, maintaining www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 33 THE HEIFER SPIRIT |GIVING RESOURCES, GIVING SELF

longstanding ties with the Episcopal Church in Nigeria. a child from a poor family for a year, giving her new clothes Christoph Keller Jr. ordained the first woman Episcopal and taking her to the movies. She recalled that upon priest in the state of Arkansas, Peggy Bosmyer, and, during learning of her project, her father remarked, “Polly, if you’re the civil rights movement, played an important role in going to be a do-gooder, you have to be very careful that integrating the church. you don’t do more harm than good.” Winter describes her activities It was, she says, advice that made a during that time as “typical” for a “I think it is common to think that lasting impression. When she and her woman of the era, “raising children one has to make a choice between family moved to Little Rock in 1967, and ... and engaging in volunteer work.” saving the Earth and saving the first learned about Heifer’s work, they But the picture painted by her family decided that “here was an organization and friends is that of a dynamic and people who live on it. I am often that was doing more good, without doing endlessly energetic woman devoted told you can’t have it both ways. harm, than any we had ever seen.” to the causes she believes in—which Christoph Keller III, who also spoke include music, the arts, social service ... [Heifer’s] realization that the at the gathering, said that Heifer’s and health care—as well as to her two are integral to each other work “fits perfectly with what Mother friends and family. seems unique and prophetic.” and Dad have believed and practiced: a Betsy Blass of Little Rock, a friend vocation to help human beings live, and of Winter’s who has worked with her —Cornelia Keller live abundantly.” He noted that while on several projects over the years, Heifer’s global reach was part of what called Winter “one of the great ladies of all time,” and said made its work so important to the family, so was its local that the early support that Winter provided for Alzheimer’s impact, especially its involvement in the revitalization of disease research at the University of Arkansas for Medical downtown Little Rock. Sciences was crucial to the now-thriving program. Charlotte Cornelia Keller of Waterford, Va., one of the six Keller Brown, also of Little Rock, said that Winter had always been siblings, said, “I think it is common to think that one has “a catalyst for making good change happen.” She recalled to make a choice between saving the Earth and saving the how Winter’s time in Nigeria had affected her deeply, and people who live on it. I am often told you can’t have it both how, when Winter returned, she spoke at length on the ways. ... [Heifer’s] realization that the two are integral to steps of the church about the struggles that country was each other seems unique and prophetic.” Caroline Davis of facing. Washington D.C., Winter’s granddaughter, said, “I think it’s Most of all, Winter was described as someone who gives a wonderful legacy for our children and our grandchildren, generously of herself. “She is my role model, my mentor to leave them with this message about how important and my inspiration,” Blass said. “She has a delicious sense projects like this are.” of humor,” Brown said, “and a keen intellect. She’s just got Thomas Christoph Keller, a sophomore at the University this spark about her. And if she’s relaxed enough,” Brown of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., added, “We are all very said, laughing, “she’ll sing you a couple of Irish ballads.” excited that we could participate in something like this, that Beverly Fennell of Little Rock, who met Winter through will reconnect us with the state of Arkansas, which we love, her husband’s work in the Episcopal Church, recalled how and that also has a global outreach. It’s a wonderful idea.” important Winter was to the close-knit group of clergy Ava Partridge, at 18 months the youngest member of the wives. “She meant a great deal to all of us,” Fennell said. family, added something unintelligible but enthusiastic. “She gave us permission to be ourselves.” “To get a lot of people behind one idea,” Christoph Keller That ability to be a “catalyst for positive change” appears III said, “it takes a really good idea.” The hardest part, he to have been handed down in the family, like the names laughed, was convincing his mother to put her name and passed along from generation to generation. At a gathering that of his father on the building. When he suggested it, she of her family and members of the press to announce the protested, saying, “Father always told me, ‘Polly, don’t let gift, Winter spoke eloquently about learning from her own them put your name on anything before you die. You might parents that those who are able to make a difference have get caught in a scandal and disgrace your name.’ ” To which the responsibility to do so. She told the story of how, as a he replied, “Mom, you’re 83. If you get caught in a scandal teenager in El Dorado, Ark., she and her friends “adopted” now, you won’t be disgraced, you’ll be a legend.”

34 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org THE HEIFER SPIRIT |GIVING RESOURCES, GIVING SELF

Teens’ Llama Drama Spotlights Hunger

ourteen high school students president of education for Heifer In- ing people about hunger and inspir- crammed 12 days of hands- ternational. ing them to do something about it. Fon learning, brainstorming “The point was really to fill Afterward, the capacity crowd and rehearsals into a one-hour mul- their wells of creative imagery,” showered the performers with ap- timedia performance about hun- said Director Lauren Gunderson, plause, praise and flowers. ger and poverty that pulled a Little an Atlanta actress, author and “My favorite part was the Rock, Ark., audience to its feet. playwright who oversaw the whole idea behind it,” said Carol The young performers came to students’ creative process. Eruren, grandmother of 16-year-old central Arkansas this August from Students honed the insights, performer Briana Eruren of Little across the country to be part of feelings and ideas they took from Rock. “I have a feeling it was a life- the inaugural production of Llama their Global Village experience into changing event.” Drama, a Heifer International pro- the poetry, photography, songs, Still on a high from the per- gram that combines education and dance and monologues that made formance, 15-year-old poet and the arts to teach both participants up their production, “Revolutions.” photographer Dan Pologe of Mil- and viewers about economic strug- Students opened their perfor- waukee said the applause and gle and environmental degradation mance with “Wake Up!!!!” a mon- congratulations from the final around the globe. tage of news broadcasts peppered night of his visit to central Arkan- The participants, who ranged with sobering statistics on hunger sas wouldn’t be the only part of in age from 15 to 18, were cho- and suffering. The opener was fol- the trip that would stick with him. sen from a pool of applicants to lowed by poems, dance and song He’ll also take with him the friend- spend two busy weeks at the Heifer that all shared the goal of educat- ships he’s made and the eye- Ranch in Perryville. The opening experiences young artists started he had at the Global their Llama Drama expe- Village. “As much as rience with the ultimate the performance was icebreaker: two days amazing, I think I’ll re- and nights in the Global member the whole ex- Village, where they got a perience,” he said. first-hand taste of pov- Other young per- erty. The students were formers will likely get divided among a Mongo- the chance to stage lian ger, a thatched-roof more Llama Drama Mozambiquean hut and productions in the a broken-down school future, said Tim bus from the Mississippi Newman, manager Delta. of school programs “They stepped into for Heifer Inter- a hungry person’s life national. “We got and saw the world such great feed- through a new per- back from students, spective. Through this staff, parents and new understanding, Llama Drama participants talk with Little Rock, Ark., television per- the audience that inspiration was born,” sonality Jason Harper during a rehearsal for their whirlwind perfor- we’ll probably do it said Anne Harper, vice mance about hunger and poverty. again,” he said. www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 35 THE HEIFER SPIRIT |GIVING RESOURCES, GIVING SELF School Undergoes “Extreme Makeover” uring the last year, students school for contributions. The students and teachers have taken San hosted a pasta dinner and organized DMiguel Elementary School in a school-wide garage sale. Santa Rosa, Calif., through a major— And as the students worked to- and exciting—change. San Miguel’s gether on these projects and learned “extreme makeover” was not the stuff more about the lives of Heifer proj- of TV drama. Instead, it was the re- ect participants, they gained new per- sult of a year-long series of special spectives. Teachers began to notice events held to raise money for Heif- subtle improvements in their students’ er. “In my 25 years of teaching, I’ve level of self-respect and acceptance never seen such a transformation in of one another. From left, Jonathon Lomeli, Caitlin Young, a school,” said sixth-grade teacher Perhaps the development of empa- “Mint” from Heifer Thailand, Ashley Margery Egge. thy within the school was most obvi- Adams and Heather Brigman. “Teachers who had little contact ous with the special education class. before were now working side by side. These students normally have little in- Older children were mentoring younger teraction with the students in general children. Special ed kids for the first education classes. Their involvement time were seamlessly interacting with with Heifer changed that. the general ed kids. It was an amaz- Special education teacher Sherry ing makeover for San Miguel Elemen- Shiebel said, “Our kids are full of love tary School.” and want so much to give to the world. The process began when Principal Now they had their chance. When they Ann Savvidis proclaimed school year saw what they could do for other kids 2004-05 “The Year of Empathy.” around the world who had less than “The teachers and I wanted to they did, they were just vibrating with intentionally foster the development The “Hearts for Heifer” display at San excitement and compassion.” of empathy in the kids, not only Miguel Elementary School. The special education class made with one another on the playground drawings that were transferred onto and in the classroom, but in their turned the winning posters into a blocks of fabric and sewn into a attitudes toward the rest of the world,” calendar. To their amazement, the quilt. The quilt was raffled off for a Savvidis said. “We wanted them to students sold 500 calendars. Every generous amount and then donated understand that they are part of a month the students chose a different to Heifer’s Northwest regional office, world community.” theme—Pennies for Pigs, Quarters which uses it for displays. The special Egge, whose son Isaac is on staff for Quackers, Hearts for Heifers and ed students also began gathering re- with Heifer, had the perfect plan. She Shamrocks for Sheep. Every month, cyclable items in the lunchroom and spearheaded a year-long whirlwind the students opened and ran a small playground, and before long, they of Heifer activities that drew in store with all proceeds going to Heifer. were joined by students from other everyone at the school. With the help At their winter carnival, students sold classrooms who took their lead. of a matching grant from the Marin handmade items like jewelry. The first- “We began with the idea that chil- Community Foundation, the students graders made and sold bookmarks, dren who grow up feeling that they ultimately raised close to $24,000 and the sixth-grade classes sold could change the world would, in fact, for Heifer project participants around hand-printed cards for both Christmas change it,” Egge said. “Our students the world. and Valentine’s Day. Classrooms took experienced a growth of empathy for They began raising money at San turns fashioning animal-appropriate others and an awareness of their Miguel with a poster contest and banks that were placed around the place in the global community.”

36 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org T H E H E I F E R S P I R I T | G I V I N G R E S O U R C E S , G I V I N G S E L F

Cham p s Say It With a Wa te r Buffa lo

hen t he m en’s so c c er team at In diana Univer si - ty won t he N CAA c hampionship, a lo c al d entist Wb ou g ht C o a c h Mic hael Freit a g an d t he team a w a- ter b u ff alo f ro m H eifer Inter national. S o w hen Freit a g an d t he team were invi ted to t he W hite H ouse to r e c eive p er - so nal c o n g r atulations f ro m Presid ent B ush, t hey d e cid e d to p ass on t he f avor. “I told t hem, ‘I d o n’t t hink anyon e else is going to g i ve B ush a w ater b u ff alo,’ ” Freit a g s aid. H e an d t he team p r esented t he p r esid ent w i t h t he g ift at t he c eremo ny M ay 13 in t he E ast Roo m, w here t hey alon g w i t h s ever al ot her c hampionship teams ha d t he c han c e to m e et t he p r esi - d ent an d t he fir s t lad y. In a sp e e c h dur ing t he c eremo ny, Presid ent B ush c alle d t he g ift “an inc r e dibly generous gesture.” “He w as r eally t ic k le d,” Freit a g s aid. “He w as just sinc erely t ic k le d by t he Th e w i n ni ng te a m p oses f o r a p i ctu re w ith P res i d e n t Bu s h. w hole t hing. H e kept s aying, ‘I am r eally touc he d. Tell m e m o r e ab ou t t his.’ ” m ake it memo r a ble. I t w as t he s event h national c hampionship for t he team, “ W hen I told t he team w hat I w anted to d o, every b o d y w ho ha d b e en c o a c he d to v ic tory t he year b efor e by le g - sho ok t heir heads, like t hey t hou g ht t hey were going to b e en d ary c o a c h J er ry Yea g ley. F o r Freit a g, in his fir s t year em bar r ass e d. B u t w hen t hey s aw how p lease d B ush w as, as head c o a c h, t he v ic tory w as swe et, an d he w anted to everyon e was like, ‘Co ol! A water bu ff alo!’”

N EW Online Gi ving Reg ist ry Spr eads t he Opport unity t o Help Jus t in time for the holiday s, Heifer has launched the new online Giv ing Reg is try as a feat ur e of our online c atalog . The Giv ing Reg is try f unctions like a department s t or e r eg is try, but ins t ead of r e que s ting g i fts for yours el f, you’r e ask ing others t o make g i fts that change live s t o Heifer in your name. Whether i t’s t o t ell f riends about your holiday wish lis t of meaningf ul g i fts, or for an upc oming wedding or other spe c ial event , Heifer’s Giv ing Reg is try will be a unique and f un way t o c elebrat e the oc c asion. V is i t i t at www.heif er.or g . H ow It Wo r ks h e H e i f e r G i v i ng Re gi stry w o rks j u st li ke a ny o th e r gi ft re gi stry. Yo u g o on l i n e to re gi st e r, ch o o s e th e “gi fts ” y o u w o u l d l i ke t o Tre c e i v e, an d s e n d messa g es t o in v i t e pe o p l e t o ta ke pa rt. Pe o p l e wh o are pl a n ni ng t o gi v e yo u a gi ft or make a do na ti o n in y o u r na m e ca n c h o o s e a n a ni mal o r o th e r i t e m fro m th e p o p u l a r H e i f e r ca tal o g . S e t u p y o u r o w n G i v i ng Re gi stry: ● As y o u r h o l i d ay w i s h l i st ● F o r m i l est o n es i n y o u r l i f e s u c h a s we d d i ngs a n d b i rth d ay s ● To h o n o r th e m e m o ry o f l o v e d o n es ● A n d f o r j u st a b o u t a ny re a s o n f o r w hi c h y o u w o u l d l i ke t o a s k s o m e o n e t o j o i n y o u i n s u p p o rti ng th e w o rk o f H e i f e r. Fi n d o u t m o re a b o u t c re a ti ng a G i v i ng Re gi stry o f y o u r o w n a t www.h e i f e r.org . I t’s f a st , e a s y a n d th e p e rf e ct w ay t o t e l l fri e n d s a n d f a m i l y y o u ’d l i ke a gi ft tha t ma kes a d i ff e re n c e! www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 37 THE HEIFER SPIRIT |GIVING RESOURCES, GIVING SELF

Sarah McLachlan Shows Support at Live 8

inger Sarah M c L a c h l a n S showed her Heifer colors at this summer’s Live 8 concert in Philadelphia. McLachlan helped Heifer announce its support of the One Campaign “to make poverty history.” Live 8 concerts were also held in France, Ger- many, Italy, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom. Millions came together to call for complete debt cancellation, more and better aid and trade jus- tice for the world’s poor- est countries. The concerts were broadcast around the world, and McLachlan posed for the photos backstage immediately after her performance and mentioned her support of Heifer to the internation- al media in attendance. Last year, McLachlan featured footage of the work of non-governmen- tal organizations, includ- ing Heifer, in her “World on Fire” video. Sarah mentioned that she learned about Heifer through a friend who gave a gift in her honor and that she gave Heifer gifts to friends last year dur-

ing the holidays. PHOTO BY MIKE MERGEN

38 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org THE HEIFER SPIRIT |GIVING RESOURCES, GIVING SELF HEIFER BULLETIN |NEWS FROM THE FIELD

Heifer Youth Meet to Promote Teamwork

By Austin Gelder, HEIFER STAFF WRITER

Heifer youth learn how wool is carded and spun at the 2005 Heifer Youth Exchange at Overlook Farm.

he smell of baking cinnamon youth, all participants in Heifer pro- dens and repairing fences. They then bread signaled lunchtime at Over- grams at their homes in Canada and split into smaller “families,” prepar- Tlook Farm in Rutland, Mass., and the northern part of the United States, ing their own meals over open fires clusters of hungry people dropped were beginning their Global Village and bedding down in rustic housing their work in the fields to head to- experience, where they would see typical for struggling families in Peru, ward the kitchen. firsthand how much work it takes for Thailand, Guatemala and China. Rain But the 17 teenagers visiting Over- struggling families around the world was in the forecast, and sleeping look Farm Aug. 14-19 for Heifer Youth to feed themselves and their families. bags would do little to make the dirt Exchange 2005 ignored their hunger The group shared a lunch of torti- floors more comfortable. But discom- pangs as they gathered firewood and llas and beans before spending the fort was exactly the point. kneaded masa with their fingers. The afternoon feeding pigs, weeding gar- “The more you do without in this

40 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org HEIFER BULLETIN |NEWS FROM THE FIELD

experience, the more you’ll get out of Heifer Youth Meet to Promote Teamwork it,” said Sarah Miles, a volunteer at Overlook who supervised the group’s Global Village experience. Participants planned their Global Village night and the rest of their ac- tivities themselves, with the goal of promoting teamwork and strengthen- ing ties among the youngest genera- tion of Heifer program participants. “We wanted a chance to share what everyone experiences with their own Heifer projects,” explained Andy Duong, 16, of Winnipeg, Canada. A similar event was held at the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Ark., July 31 through Aug. 5 for 15 Heifer youth from the southern part of the United States. Many of the teenagers who partic- ipated had little in common besides Participants in the weeklong Heifer Youth Exchange in Massachusetts help care for baby their affiliation with Heifer. Some were rabbits. from families that had received live- stock from Heifer, while others earn pocket change by growing and sell- pants to Overlook Farm. taste of the rural life by helping to re- ing fruits and vegetables on small Eighteen-year-old Neal Johnson build a chicken house, cuddling baby city lots that are part of Heifer’s ur- came to Arkansas from Tohlakai, rabbits and learning how to card and ban agriculture efforts in Brooklyn N.M., where he and his father work to- spin wool. and Chicago. gether on a Heifer project to replenish A group of young urban gardeners “The goal was to give youth a soil using chicken waste. Neal also from Chicago planned to take some chance to see what other groups are spends much of his time caring for of their newfound know-how back with doing in other regions and to get a sheep and growing corn, melons and them on the 21-hour bus ride home. sense of a larger community,” said other crops. During his week in Arkan- The group works with an organiza- Gus Heard-Hughes, a Heifer south- sas, Neal fielded lots of questions tion called Will Feed to grow healthy eastern field coordinator based in about his projects back home. fruits and vegetables that are Alabama who volunteered to help with “People here are really interested then given away free to people in the Perryville conference. in the things I do every day,” he said. the neighborhood. Education programs at both Seventeen-year-old Tanya Merca- Sixteen-year-old Sia McBride came conferences taught participants about do came to Overlook from Brooklyn, to Overlook from her home in Mont- the benefits of locally grown organic where she helps manage a half-acre pellier, Vt., where she helps her family food and family-owned farms. community garden. She hoped to pick care for llamas and sheep. Farm life is “We wanted to prepare the next up some new ideas to make the gar- nothing new to her, but she was glad generation to engage in sustainable den more productive. She also want- to pick up more knowledge on sus- agriculture,” said Julie Henderson, a ed to share what she’s learned over tainable food production. field coordinator with Heifer’s Prai- the years as her community garden “I like the idea of getting involved ries Program in Canada who traveled has expanded and improved. in world hunger and putting an end to with Canadian conference partici- While at Overlook, Tanya got a it,” she said.

www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 41 HEIFER BULLETIN |NEWS FROM THE FIELD Cousins Build on a Legacy By Austin Gelder, HEIFER STAFF WRITER

he man who led Heifer International gifts from people around the world who Ranch has given Neal and Kevin through its early years is a living benefited from Heifer International more than just new carpentry skills Tlegend among Heifer staff and animals and training. “I’ve always and suntans. The young men have supporters, but Thurl Metzger once looked up to him and admired him,” gotten to spend lots of time with their told an interviewer he wasn’t so sure Kevin said. “He took a small idea and grandparents, who live in Little Rock. his own family fully understood the helped make it into an international Neal grew up in Nicholasville, Ky., work to which he’d dedicated his life. organization.” and usually visited his grandparents So cousins Neil Metzger and Kevin When the cousins first signed on twice a year. Kevin grew up in North McNamee hoisted hammers and to volunteer at the Ranch they were Carolina, New Mexico, Poland and power drills at the Heifer Ranch in assigned to lead tours and classroom Arkansas, so his contact with his Perryville, Ark., this summer to prove sessions, an assignment they quickly grandparents was also limited. their grandfather wrong. traded in for the sweatier, more This summer they visited their The goateed college students hazardous construction work. grandparents in Little Rock weekly. spent June and July framing walls The job requires them to be up and And 89-year-old Thurl Metzger came and laying a tin roof on the wooden on the job before 8 a.m. They break out to the Ranch on Father’s Day and skeleton that will soon become the for lunch at noon, and then are back the Fourth of July to celebrate the Thurl M. Metzger Education Center. at work at 2 or 3 p.m., depending on holiday with his proud grandsons. “We thought it would be cool to the heat. They each go through more Thurl Metzger relies on a spend our time, put our sweat and than a gallon of water a day and fall wheelchair now to get around and blood into it and continue a legacy,” gratefully into bed before 11 p.m. can’t hear very well, but he’s still said 20-year-old Kevin, a ballet each night. It’s an unlikely schedule plenty sharp. Neal and Kevin report dancer and anthropology major at the for a college student during summer that their grandfather is impressed University of Utah in Salt Lake City. break, but one the cousins have by the rising building and is surprised “I want to show him we understand embraced. at how big it is. what he’s done, we respect that and “It’s awesome. This is what we “He thinks they should name it we want to continue that.” want to be doing,” Kevin said. the Thurl M. Metzger and Grandsons The cousins decided to pitch in Spending two months on the Heifer Building,” Neal said. last winter when they visited the site set aside for the new 5,760- square-foot education building. Built largely with volunteer labor, the building is expected to be complete in June 2006. It’s taken time for Neal and Kevin to realize the impact their grandfather has had. Both boys remember wondering about the countless plaques decorating the walls of their grandparents’ house when they were growing up, many of them written in different languages. Over the years they’ve come to understand that those plaques were Artist’s rendering of the education building to be completed in June 2006.

42 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org HEIFER BULLETIN |NEWS FROM THE FIELD

Chicken Ambassador Goes Global

By Barb Justus, FREELANCE WRITER

ank Sweeney, who tag, and added, “Gee, was incredible! His quest began his “career” that’s a lot of money!” had taken on a life of its Has the “chicken am- Steel said, “There own.” bassador” of Adams Farm, was no way I was go- His friend Nicki and is now known in his rural ing to tell a kid like mother Rebecca cheered community of Wilmington, Hank that he shouldn’t him on but made sure he Vt., as an ambassador for try to help others in did most of the work—in- people in need around the need, and I offered to cluding the banking. Hank world. help.” She added with opened a bank account at Hank’s rise to success a chuckle, “But I did the Wilmington branch of began last year when he point out that he was Chittenden Bank. Branch was 7. He loved to visit Ad- going to have to do manager Michael Pos- ams Farm, a tourist desti- more than recycle bot- ternak said, “We agreed nation near his hometown. tles to raise that kind to let Hank set up a col- Hank has a special way of money.” lection jar in the lobby, with chickens; he’s sort So Hank trans- and we figured he would of a poultry—not horse— formed himself into get a couple of dollars “whisperer.” But he no- a one-man show for each week. Frankly, I was ticed that some visitors to Heifer International. worried he would be dis- the farm shied away from Hank first reached appointed. But within a the plucky critters, so he out to the people of few months, Hank had came up with the idea of his church, Wilmington raised more than $2,000 being Adams Farm’s first Congregational Church. Hank Sweeney’s interest in chickens in anonymous donations chicken ambassador. Hank addressed the helped raise $5,000 for Heifer’s cause. from customers at our “I asked Carl [Mancivala- congregation about branch.” The bank also no, Adams Farm owner] if I the need of families around Hank made presentations made a generous contribu- could do it,” Hank said. “I’m the world to become self- at the Whitingham Lion’s tion. really good with chickens sustaining and how gifts of Club, the Deerfield Valley On June 26, 2005, only and I just really like them.” animals could help them do Rotary Club and other civic five months from when he Hank’s interest in chick- so. The minister of the con- organizations, all of which started his quest, Hank ens led adult family friend gregation, moved by Hank’s responded to Hank’s call handed a $5,719 check Nicki Steel to suggest that compassion, reminded the generously. to Heifer International. He perhaps Hank might like to congregation that “the little The local newspaper hopes the additional $719 purchase a flock of chickens child shall lead them all.” eventually caught wind can be used to help a trout for a family in need through And so he did, winning their of Hank’s mission to fishing farm in Romania. Heifer. Steel has been in- support as well as the sup- raise a $5,000 Gift Ark and “Hank has learned a pow- volved with Heifer for years. port of the West Dover Con- published a story about him. erful lesson from this expe- But as Hank paged through gregational Church. The momentum grew. rience,” Steel said. “He’s the Heifer Gift Catalog with Hank set up a bake sale Hank’s mother, Rebecca, learned that helping people Steel, he stopped at the Gift at the local grocery store. He said, “Everywhere we went, in this complicated world is Ark page and said, “That’s organized toy drives with his people were handing Hank really so simple. If you have what I want!” Then he friends. He sold Christmas handfuls of money. On the good news to share, people spotted the $5,000 price ornaments at a craft fair. street, in restaurants. It will respond.”

www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 43 MIXED MEDIA |FOOD FOR THOUGHT

ENDING GLOBAL POVERTY: A Guide to What Works

By Stephen C. Smith Reviewed by Jan Cottingham Palgrave Macmillan World Ark Editor Hardcover, $26.95

seemingly simple question from a woman to her given to Heifer over the years. spouse prompted a journey of several years The result of Smith’s effort to answer A across several continents. That journey result- his wife’s question is a highly readable, if ed in this invaluable book, Ending Global Poverty: slightly piecemeal, introduction to poverty A Guide to What Works. programs that he found to be “effective, in- A few years ago, Renee Jakobs, carrying a stack novative, and promising.” of requests for money from organizations work- Statistics on poverty and hunger that, ing to end poverty in the developing world, asked her hus- presented by another writer, might have band which she should respond to. Her husband, Stephen proved to be mind-numbing are used by Smith to excellent C. Smith, is after all an expert in economic development. effect. He doesn’t just recite numbers; through the use of Smith, professor of economics at George Washington Uni- verbal counterpoint he connects the numbers to the reality. versity, heads the Research Program on Poverty, Develop- A few examples: ment and Globalization and is the co-author of one of the ● “Poverty is hunger. Some 17 percent of the world’s popu- primary texts in the fi eld, Economic Development, Ninth Edi- lation is classifi ed as undernourished, or suffering from tion. He has been a Fulbright Research Scholar and a con- chronic hunger.” sultant to the World Bank and the U.N. World Institute for ● “Poverty is pervasive poor health and early death. Every Development Economics Research. day, about 30,000 children in developing countries die But, he says in the preface to his book, “I didn’t know from preventable causes—almost 11 million this year how to answer this question in a comprehensive way, as a alone.” development specialist. I knew the most rigorous studies ● “Poverty is the loss of childhood. According to Interna- published in professional journals—but there was no rea- tional Labor Organization (ILO) estimates, at least 180 son to suppose (and some good reasons to doubt) that the million child laborers are either under 14 years of age best programs had been subjected to the most rigorous re- or work in conditions that endanger their health or well- search. So some of the best programs likely weren’t even being, involving hazards, sexual exploitation, traffi cking, known to most specialists.” and debt bondage.” Smith himself conducted research, only to come to the One particularly innovative poverty-alleviating strategy conclusion two years later that he’d have to write his own Smith describes is the use of the Roundabout Playpump, book—“a guide to what works.” This is that book. Written for a device invented by Roundabout Outdoor. The Playpump the lay person, Ending Global Poverty contains a minimum of is actually a merry-go-round for children that, through in- jargon and a maximum of insight, personal observation by genious design, converts its spinning action into power to an expert and common sense. pump well water. While children play on it, the playpump Yes, Smith writes, charity rating groups can offer valu- provides ready access to clean water. able guidance, but they have limitations (which the book Ending Global Poverty offers more than knowledge; it lives discusses). Smith traveled around the world seeking and up to its title by identifying and describing poverty programs studying programs that worked. One of the programs that that actually achieve their goals. Smith acknowledges that impressed him, in a slum in Lima, was a Heifer International the book’s scope is necessarily limited, but writes that he project that he apparently stumbled upon by chance. He expects “to continue with this effort indefi nitely.” The book also notes Heifer’s Read to Feed Program and praises Heif- is useful not only as a guide to the charitable giver but also er’s Study Tours. Smith, his wife and his church also have as a handbook of hope.

To read Heifer’s interview with author Stephen C. Smith, please visit www.heifer.org. 44 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org MIXED MEDIA |FOOD FOR THOUGHT HUNGER: An Unnatural History Sharman Apt Russell Reviewed by Sherri Nelson Basic Books Heifer Staff Writer Hardcover, $23.95

n a unique and sweeping study of to my daughter and ger and children. She the many aspects of hunger, pro- she brought down also hits the high-level Ifessor and author Sharman Apt my milk, and I fed issues of famine and Russell explores the personal choic- her my body ... . At world hunger. She writes es, physiology, psychology, sociolo- the center of my about the United Nations gy and religion that affect one of the life I fed the world, Millennium Development most common and primal conditions and yet children Goals. She quotes global of living beings. Part history, part sci- were dying.” thinkers on ending hunger ence and part personal perspective, Russell direct- and offers her own person- Russell examines hunger as a dis- ly engages read- al refl ections on solutions ease, hunger as art, hunger as com- ers by describing to hunger. munication and hunger as chemistry. the body’s re- “That’s the big picture. Her subjects are many: fasting, fam- action to hun- Most of us live in a smaller ine, obesity, anorexia, child hunger, ger. Eighteen hours without food one ... . Most of us would be world hunger, hunger strikes, hunger and your brain signals that it needs willing to do more if we had a struc- experiments, among others. glucose. Thirty-six hours without food ture that did not involve our own Russell opens her dialogue by dis- and your body begins to reserve glu- personal spending habits. We need cussing the body’s basic needs and cose and takes what it needs from economic and political systems that chemical reactions: We wake up hun- muscle tissue. Seven days without support the goals of the U.N. Task gry. We eat. We are satisfi ed. She food and your liver starts convert- Force Against Hunger. We need lead- introduces the premise that hunger ing amino acids into glucose, using ers who insist that ending hunger is is more than food to mouth. Citing up the protein from muscle mass. a priority as important as any of our Franz Kafka’s short story “The Hun- The author reports in easy-to-under- other national concerns. If neces- ger Artist,” Russell discusses the hu- stand detail the chemical processes sary, we need to educate these lead- man fascination with—and revulsion of the body while deprived of food. ers: this is our moral clarity ... . There toward—hunger. She reports on a myriad of historic is no excuse left. We do not have to She describes herself as a hunger hunger studies from World War II to give up the complexity and diversity artist when she fi rst became a moth modern day. of our lives to end hunger. We can to hunger’s fl ame—an interest and Beyond the physical effects of have it all. Call us greedy.” despair born from her umbilical con- hunger, Russell explores the social Russell’s foray into the complex nection to the universe, the birth of and cultural issues of hunger. She subject of hunger is interesting, en- her daughter. discusses the role of hunger in the gaging and well written. The many and “A billion people in the world were religious ceremonies of Jews, Hin- varied focuses can leave the reader hungry. My impetus did not seem dus, Buddhists and Christians. She a bit dizzy—the continuity suffers as to be about death, but birth. I was explains hunger as civil disobedience, she covers a lot of real estate in a thirty years old and pregnant. A gate a way to right a social wrong as dem- rather small space. However, Hunger opened inside me with a neat and onstrated by the fasts of people such provides a broad and unique view of audible hormonal click ... . I couldn’t as Mahatma Gandhi with his nine a somber subject, and it would be understand why children were dying rules of fasts. a good introduction to an important because they had no food. I gave birth Russell devotes a chapter to hun- global issue for teen-aged students. www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 45 MIXED MEDIA |FOOD FOR THOUGHT

ORION MAGAZINE Reviewed by Austin Gelder Heifer Staff Writer

ince its fi rst issue 24 years to pick through it all. ago, Orion magazine has been The March/April 2005 Sthe best-kept secret of the issue, for example, ex- periodicals rack, an impressive one- plores the growing face- size-fi ts-all publication for the coffee- lessness of American life house set that seamlessly tackles and laments the bygone issues environmental, cultural and days before ATMs replaced intellectual. Orion magazine has ad- real live bank tellers and dressed such subjects well and in a full tank of gas could be depth for more than two decades. gotten only after actual hu- Its circulation of 12,000 copies for man contact with the station Orion Society members and another attendant. Advisory board 12,000 for bookstores and news- member and author Bill Mc- stands illustrates how small is the Kibben decries the act of cast- band of enlightened Orion read- ing around for the Earth’s last ers, those either clued in or lucky dregs of oil when we should enough to have stumbled on this instead be focused on devel- multipurpose, award-winning publi- oping renewable energy tech- cation. nologies. The magazine is a product of Barbara Kingsolver. The corresponding website the Orion Society, a nonprofi t group The magazine and affiliated is easy to navigate and includes ab- whose mission is “to inform, inspire, website, www.orionsociety.org, serve breviated versions of selected arti- and engage individuals and grass- as forums where writers and artists cles and links to some material that roots organizations in becoming a push toward ideas that may someday appeared in past issues. The site signifi cant cultural force for healing result in a healthier, more humane, also includes some web-exclusive nature and community.” To inform, happier Earth. After reading an issue, articles and artwork. inspire and engage are lofty goals, I was surprised to be able to lift its The newsstand price of $7 is a but this magazine, which won the 80 pages off my lap so easily. Dense bargain, especially since it doesn’t 2004 Utne Independent Press Award with good reading and grounded by even cover the cost to produce the for General Excellence, repeatedly honest, eloquent, feet-on-the-ground magazine. It’s subsidized by the achieves them. writers, I expected the magazine to Myrin Institute, the Orion Society’s The quality of the magazine be much heavier than it was. mother institution, and by private do- makes sense considering the im- The bimonthly issues are packed nations. pressive roster of contributors and with articles both entertaining and And so, if you haven’t read Orion editors. The advisory board for Ori- erudite, studded with thoughtful pho- magazine, haven’t ever heard of the on magazine is a star-studded list of tography, poetry and visual artwork. Orion Society and didn’t know such top-notch writers, conservationists The lack of advertising allows the a fi ne magazine existed, don’t feel and humanitarians that includes re- editors at Orion to cram their publi- sheepish. But do get in on this smart, nowned primatologist Jane Goodall cation full enough of substance that engaging and important magazine and bestselling author and naturalist one sitting won’t possibly be enough and website.

46 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org MIXED MEDIA |FOOD FOR THOUGHT

THE GOAT LADY

Jane Bregoli Reviewed by Austin Gelder Tilbury House Publishers Heifer Staff Writer Hardcover, $16.95

he quirky old farmhouse on Lucy winning painter. far away could have goat’s milk and Little Lane is causing lots of talk Just as Shel Silverstein’s The Giv- cheese. Tin Dartmouth, Mass. Neighbors ing Tree teaches about unconditional Eventually the children convince complain of the peeling paint and the love and E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web their artist mother to create watercol- yard full of goats. A jogger claims a teaches about the power of friend- or portraits of Noelie with her animals. goose barreled out of the yard and ship, The Goat Lady, a winner of the The works are displayed at town hall, chased him down the road. And no ASPCA Henry Bergh Children’s Book and those who see them learn about one knows much about the tall, white- Award, teaches children the impor- Noelie’s goodheartedness. haired woman who lives there. tance of being friendly and open to This heartwarming tale is packed This is the situation at the begin- people who may be different. with important life lessons. The young ning of The Goat Lady, an excellent The story is told in the voice of the narrators enjoy a rich friendship with children’s book by Massachusetts brother and sister who move in next the Goat Lady only because they ig- author and artist Jane Bregoli. Based door to the rickety farmhouse and in- nore gossip and reach out to some- on a true story, the book recounts troduce themselves to Noelie Houle, one who has been shunned by the how two children’s curiosity and the woman who lives there. Capti- neighborhood. The narrators’ mother open-mindedness lead to the town’s vated by her warm smile and the ten- uses the power of her artwork to fos- acceptance of a mysterious, kind- der way she cares for her yard full of ter friendships and understanding. hearted animal lover. animals, the children return day after And by dropping their biases and The story is made all the better by day. They learn that Noelie shares putting their snobbishness aside, the brilliant watercolor illustrations her nutritious goat’s milk with others the townspeople fi nally realize what created by Bregoli, an elementary and has even donated goats to Heifer a giving and kind neighbor they school art teacher and award- International so that needy families have in Noelie.

www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 47 THE HEIFER CALENDAR

CERES CENTER CHALLENGE COURSE OVERLOOK FARM HEIFER UNIVERSITY (Sixth grade and older; half- to full-day program) Nov. 5 Dec. 10-11 Heifer International offers Heifer FALL FEAST Build teamwork and problem-solving LIVING NATIVITY University programs to give Fall outing for the whole family! skills and learn about world hunger A live Nativity presented hourly, participants the tools to promote Learn more about Heifer with a video and environmental issues with international gift shop, sleigh rides, Heifer in their communities. Cost and tour while dining on globally themed challenges. hot cider and more! is $195 per person (includes all fall foods. meals, lodging, program fees GLOBAL EXPLORING Feb. 5-10, 2006 and transportation to and from Year-Round (Fifth to sixth grades; PEACE AND JUSTICE the airport when necessary). FIELD TRIPS two-day program) HOME-SCHOOL CAMP Learn about Heifer International Learn how everyday choices A residential camp for home- Contact Rex Enoch at and Ceres Education Center affect our global community schooled youth, ages 12-18. [email protected] or with a video, walking tour ecologically and culturally. Feb. 28-March 3 call (501) 907-2855. and hands-on experience. GLOBAL VILLAGE OVERNIGHT GOAT-KIDDING AND MAPLE- GLOBAL VILLAGE SUGARING PROGRAM Nov. 3-6 (Sixth grade and older; HEIFER U 201, HEIFER RANCH Get a taste of the realities overnight program) Three-night program. Help deliver of life around the world with baby goats and enjoy maple- PERRYVILLE, ARK. Build problem-solving skills and this overnight experience. sugaring season on the farm. Feb. 9-12, 2006 learn how you can help your HEIFER U 201, HEIFER RANCH MEETING FACILITY environment and the world. March 4, 11, 18 and 25 Have your meeting or gathering PANCAKES AT THE FARM Feb. 23-26, 2006 “down on the farm” and learn about SERVICE LEARNING (9 A.M.-1 P.M.) HEIFER U 101, HEIFER RANCH Heifer International’s mission to (Sixth grade and older; two-, Enjoy a hearty pancake breakfast end world hunger and poverty. three- or five-day program) featuring our own pork sausage and April 6-9, 2006 Through interactive learning, see our maple-sugaring operation. HEIFER U FOR TEACHERS HEIFER RANCH community building and work Please call for reservations. HEIFER RANCH projects, learn how to serve others. May 4-13 April 20-23, 2006 Dec. 2-3 GLOBAL VILLAGE 2 WOMEN’S LAMBING EXPERIENCES HEIFER U 101, HEIFER RANCH LIVING NATIVITY (Ninth grade and older; Three three-night programs. Share Experience the Christmas story at three- or four-day program) in the lambing experience and learn this free, drive-through event. about gender issues in world hunger. Immerse yourself in an experience INFORMATION March 2006 that will connect you to the Year-Round DAY EDUCATION PROGRAMS WOMEN’S LAMBING PROGRAMS realities of poverty and hunger CERES CENTER Full- and half-day education Visit www.heifer.org for details and and to the global community. Ceres, California links to online registration. programs for groups include a ADULT WORK GROUPS (877) 841-7182 or video and tour and may include a [email protected] PROGRESSIVE PROGRAMMING (18 years and older; meal in the Global Village, a hunger FIELD TRIPS five-day program) education session, a farm work HEIFER RANCH (Pre-K and older; two-hour program) Through interactive learning experience and horse-drawn hayride. Perryville, Arkansas Learn about the work and history and work projects, learn the Ranch Events Office MULTI-DAY SERVICE-LEARNING (501) 889-5124 or of Heifer International and value of serving others. PROGRAM about how livestock improves [email protected] VOLUNTEERING Two- to five-day stays. Groups enjoy nutrition and income. (18 years and older) farm work, hunger and sustainable OVERLOOK FARM GLOBAL VILLAGE FAMILY MEAL Learn, share and grow while becoming agriculture sessions and a Global Rutland, Massachusetts (Fourth grade and older; a vital part of our work to end hunger Village overnight. Get a taste of the (508) 886-2221 or three-hour program) and poverty and care for the Earth. realities of life around the world. [email protected] Learn how Heifer’s project CONFERENCE CENTER FIELD TRIPS HOWELL NATURE CENTER participants in other countries live Have your next gathering here, a Learn about Heifer International HEIFER GLOBAL VILLAGE and prepare a meal using their peaceful place that encourages and Overlook Farm with a video, Howell, Michigan ingredients and techniques. awareness, reflection and growth. guided tour and hayride. (517) 546-0249 [email protected] All locations are open year-round for drop-in visitors, or schedule a field trip for your group.

48 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org Travel WITH A PURPOSE Where will we go in 2006? Heifer International is headed around the world, and we hope you will include us on your travel calendar. Give the gift of travel to someone you love or to yourself. The real gift is seeing people who have become self-reliant glow with pride as they show off what they have learned. Who goes on Heifer trips? Individuals, couples, friends, youth, families, grandparents, grandchildren, educators. You should have seen a 90-year-old climb Machu Picchu in Peru! Our Study Tour offi ce works with our in-country offi ces to provide you with the best traveling schedules that also are the best times to visit our project participants. At times information is slow in coming, and changes are always possible along the way, but this approach allows us to honor the hard work and progress our project partners are making. If our information is not complete when you inquire, you will be automatically sent new information as it becomes available. Send questions to the tour leader, if listed, or e-mail [email protected]. Please check our website for new trip information as well as updates.

2006-2007 STUDY TOURS Study Tours are a gift from our country staff and project partners worlwide, who take participants CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPE PENDING into their lives. CHENDGU, CHINA, TIBET, MONGOLIA ALBANIA/KOSOVO—June 4-15 Summer 2006 Tour leader: Suzanne Awalt Heifer in collaboration with Nomadic Costs and Lengths of Stay [email protected] Expeditions Prices include airfare (except (916) 624-8382 where noted), accommodations, MEKONG REGION meals and local transportation. ROMANIA October 2006 Late May 2006 A project that extends beyond national Latin America and the Caribbean borders. This trip will focus on protection 10-14 days, $2,000-$4,000 LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN of natural resources to sustain the Central and GUATEMALA cultural heritage of the people along the Mekong watershed. Eastern Europe Late October 2006 10-14 days, $3,000-$4,200 PERU AFRICA Africa To be announced TANZANIA 17-24 days, $4,000-$5,500 Mid-June 2006 HONDURAS Asia and the Intergenerational! Bring along a child and 10-day program available for groups South Pacifi c see Heifer through his or her eyes. of 15 to 20 year-round, except 14-21 days, $3,500-$5,000 December to mid-January PENDING North America (airfare not included) KENYA—October 2006 ASIA/SOUTH PACIFIC 5-10 days, $800-$1,500 Focuses on women and the effects CHINA—FALL 2006 of HIV/AIDS on communities. Please check our website, www.heifer.org, and click THAILAND—FALL 2006 ZAMBIA/MALAWI—May 2007 on “Get Involved” for the most current information. www.heifer.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 49 HEIFER FOUNDATION Donor Defi es the Skeptics, Puts Her “Trust” in Heifer By Lynne Atherton

hile drawing up a will, I realized I didn’t tal would go to Heifer, the other half to fi ve other want to wait until I was dead before charities I specifi ed. The Heifer Foundation would setting in motion some substantial oversee the full amount without charge. charitable giving. I decided to tithe My broker was skeptical. My CPA was skeptical W(10 percent) on my portfolio—but had no idea how (“Setting up trusts is terribly expensive!”). My to go about it. attorney was skeptical. Janet Ginn, president of the Heifer Foundation, I showed the full paperwork and fi gures to each and I talked by phone about it, and then in person of them, one at a time. It seemed that this territory when she came to the Chicago area, resulting in was almost as new to them as it was to me, but each of a draft of a Charitable them became a believer. While it’s true I feel I ended Remainder Unitrust up teaching them something, I want to record that it (inelegantly abbreviated was also very important for me to have checked with “CRUT”). It would pay them. We all learned a lot. me 5 percent (or 6 per- All along the way, Janet Ginn and her staff cent; I chose 5 percent) gracefully and helpfully fi elded all questions. There annually through my was no pressure whatsoever. There was no such thing lifetime. At my death, a as a stupid question. And by the way, there was no minimum of half the to- cost for setting up the unitrust. I don’t miss the 10 percent I tithed. I received a whopping charitable deduction on my income taxes, spread over several years. I receive a check four times a year. Heifer is earning some money from my money

Lynne Atherton nuzzles a already, with more to come. goat in 1988, during her It’s a great satisfaction to be “passing on the gift” tenure as the Chicago area representative for Heifer during my lifetime. International. No stranger to helping animals, Lynne Lynne, a Heifer supporter since the mid-1970s, was the demonstrated her commit- ment to Heifer by once ac- fi rst Chicago area representative for Heifer International, companying a shipment of serving from 1986-1990. Lynne still volunteers for Heifer. goats and heifers on a cargo Lynne Atherton of Waukegan, Ill., and Frederick Chase, Jr. plane bound for Honduras. of Stowe, Vt., both Heifer supporters, together last year.

SPREAD THE SPIRIT Consider honoring loved ones this season with a Holiday Endowment of $2,500 or more. The Heifer Foundation will invest your gift, and each year a percentage of the endowment will be used to send a farm animal to a hungry family. Also, your loved one will receive an annual holiday card for the rest of his or her life, a reminder of your love and the tremendous difference being made in the lives of families around the world. Please call us today at (888) 422-1161, or e-mail us at [email protected].

50 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heiferfoundation.org (Please complete and return this reply form.)

Dear Friends at HOW TRUSTS WORK Heifer Foundation: n establishing the most common trust, ❑ Please send me more information a charitable remainder trust like Lynne I on Charitable Remainder Trusts. Atherton’s, you place property, cash or other assets in the trust and specify that ❑ I have already provided for Heifer regular payments from the trust be made in my will. to yourself or one or more other people for life. Or you also may choose to have the pay- ❑ Please send me a complimentary ments made from the trust for a specified will kit. period (up to 20 years). At the end of the ❑ Please send me information on trust period, the property remaining in the trust, called the charitable remainder, be- Planned Charitable Giving Seminars. comes the property of the charity or chari- ties you have designated. The options—for Name: ______example, using the payments to help pay for the care of a dependent parent or retirement Address: ______or a grandchild’s education—are many.

Benefits include: ______● Providing a fixed or variable income for yourself or other people for a set time City: ______or for life. ● Delaying distribution of income until State: ______Zip: ______a child or other loved one reaches a certain age or another condition has Phone: ______been satisfied. ● Enjoying professional management of assets. E-mail: ______● Reducing or eliminating income, capi- tal gains or estate taxes. www.heiferfoundation.org ● Contributing to a charitable cause or (888) 422-1161 causes that matter to you.

A trust is especially beneficial if the as- sets you use to fund it are not generating any or enough cash flow for you in their pres- ent form (real estate, for example). A final, important benefit: Heifer Foundation does not charge a donor any administrative fees if the foundation is designated the recipient of half or more of the remainder. Heifer Foun- Mail this form to: dation staff members stand ready to answer Heifer Foundation your questions and work with you and your P.O. Box 727 advisers on such arrangements. Little Rock, Arkansas 72203 www.heiferfoundation.org November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK 51 REFLECTION | MY ADVOCATE, MY GRANDMOTHER A Legacy of Learning By Youmna El-Sabaa

his summer, I traveled to Egypt, where Grandmother that talked Grandfather into much of my extended family lives. I had letting your mother go to college? He said not visited for six years, and during no at fi rst. And when your mother went, the my absence the elders in my family, others were able to go too.” Tincluding my mother, my grandmother and On another visit, my cousin Heba my grandfather, had passed away. and I sat cross-legged on the bed Although my mother had always told listening to our children play in me stories about her childhood in Egypt, I the next room. “Once,” Heba told really didn’t know much about my family. me, “Grandmother saw the next- My grandmother especially had always door neighbor beating been something of a mystery. I had seen her daughter because her only three times in my life, and I she wanted to go to knew very little about her. school instead of I knew that she was a wonderful cook, doing housework. that she raised chickens and rabbits and had Grandmother told that a one-legged duck. She made homemade pita bread in lady, ‘Never, ever beat your daughter for wanting to a stone oven on the rooftop, and when we admired her learn!’ ” Heba paused, and then said, “That girl is now jewelry, she readily gave it to us, even when we protested. a school principal at the school where I teach.” She was a sweet, giving woman. Children in my grandmother’s small rural But I did have a few memories, one of them of a time community in Egypt were unlikely even to fi nish high when we were alone together. We were sitting on the school. But all fi ve of my grandmother’s children—four fl oor, where she did much of her work for our meals, girls and one boy—fi nished college. Two of them went and she was stuffi ng eggplant with rice from a big bowl. on to get master’s degrees. And when I was 4, my family As Grandmother worked, she looked at me, and proudly left Egypt for New York, where my mother earned her and emphatically she said, “I raised all my children to doctorate from New York University. be educated—every one of them.” As I considered the mystery of my grandmother, the I remember looking in her eyes, trying to understand meaning behind her emphatic words to me so long ago her meaning. Her eyes looked sad, as they often did. Her became clear, as clear as what she had left unspoken— small mouth was pressed. I knew she was trying to tell that she herself knew only how to write her name. me something important, but I didn’t know what it was. My grandmother, an illiterate homemaker, had When I arrived in Cairo this summer and saw my been determined to leave a legacy of learning for her family, I was surprised at what a difference six years family. Her passion for the education that she did not had made. Babies were now young children; some have had meant better lives not only for her children, people were taller; some were balding and some were but for her grandchildren and beyond. She was more going gray. than sweet and giving; she was my fi rst advocate. I was different, too. For the fi rst time, I spoke directly And now, Grandmother, because of you, I am able with my aunts and uncle rather than relying on my to write, though you were not. And now, mother to relay information. Grandmother, I understand, and be- One day, I visited my cousin Yasmeen. She cause I understand, I can thank you. offered me cake and tea, and after we talked for a while, I said, “Tell me what you remember Youmna El-Sabaa is Heifer International’s about Grandmother.” New Media Producer. She holds a master’s degree She replied with a question. “Did you know it was in organizational communication.

52 November/December 2005 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org NEW FOR TEACHERS FROM HEIFER INTERNATIONAL

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Arpillera, 3D textile art from a Peruvian women’s coop. Photo courtesy of Crossroads Trade, www.crossroadstrade.com

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