A Little Help Can Go a Long Way

Did you ever have a dream that seemed completely out of reach? Beatrice Biira did. She was born in a small rural village in western Uganda. Her family was very poor and often went hungry. She spent most of her days working in the fields, hauling water, and caring for her brothers and sisters. Beatrice dreamed of going to school, but her family could not afford the books, uniforms, and shoes the school required. She seemed destined for a life of poverty and hard work.

When Beatrice was nine years old, her family received a simple gift that would change their lives. That gift was a goat, donated by a charitable organization called Heifer International. The goat supplied healthy milk to Beatrice's family, and selling the extra milk and the goat's offspring provided them with an income. Soon they were able to build a better house and buy clothing and better food. And, before long, Beatrice's dream came true. Her family had enough money to send her to school.

Beatrice studied hard in her village school and went on to attend an exclusive all-girls school in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. Because of her academic success, she won a full scholarship to a private boarding school in New England. Today, Beatrice is a student at Connecticut College. After graduation, she plans to return to Uganda to help others achieve their dreams.

For more than 60 years, Heifer International has helped families like Beatrice's to improve their lives. A farmer named Dan West founded the organization in the 1940s. West came up with the idea for Heifer International while serving as a relief worker in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. He realized that distributing food rations to the needy was only a temporary solution to their hunger. He believed it was possible to eliminate hunger by providing families with livestock and training them to care for the livestock. In 1944, West's organization delivered its first shipment of 17 heifers, or cows, to poor families in Puerto Rico. Heifer International has been helping families to help themselves ever since.

Part of Heifer International's continued success is the result of its careful planning. Before sending livestock to an area, Heifer representatives meet with a community group to discuss their needs and goals. Before the animals arrive, the families who are chosen to receive the animals attend training sessions, build shelters for the animals, and plant trees and grasses. In the years after the animals are introduced, Heifer works with the community to evaluate progress and make needed adjustments.

Sometimes a community already has animals to raise, but these animals may not be the most efficient or productive choice. Heifer International can help a community figure out which animals best fit their culture's needs.

In eastern Guatemala, women and girls are responsible for providing water for their families and livestock. Gathering water requires carrying heavy jugs for long distances. In the past, many girls had to quit school so they could help their family with this time-consuming chore. Traditionally, the biggest consumers of water were dairy cows, which require 18 gallons of water each per day. Heifer International convinced the Guatemalan farmers to switch from dairy cows to goats. Goats eat less than cows, reproduce more quickly, and require only 1 gallon of water each per day. With the introduction of goats to their communities, girls began to spend less time hauling water and more time in school.

Heifer International has also helped people in the United States. Sheep have been an integral part of Navajo life and culture since the mid-1600s. The Navajo rely on sheep for their wool, skin, and meat. However, years of overgrazing have eroded the land, so it can't support as many sheep as it once could. And, because the sheep have been constantly bred only within their population, or inbred, the quality and number of sheep have diminished drastically. In 2002, Heifer International stepped in to help the Navajo. The organization began sending high-quality rams to Navajo families in Arizona and New Mexico. They trained the families in effective methods of feeding and grazing sheep. Since Heifer began working with the Navajo, the quality of the sheep and wool has improved dramatically and the land has begun to recover.

One of the most important aspects of Heifer's work is the practice of Passing on the Gift. Every family that receives an animal promises to give at least one of the animal's offspring to another needy family. This practice helps build strong communities that can support themselves. In some places, Passing on the Gift takes place during festive community ceremonies.

Heifer International is a sustainable project. The benefits it provides for people are ongoing. The following are some more examples of how Heifer International has helped and continues to help to improve the lives of people all over the world.

In 1985, Heifer gave 78 goats to farm families in Ya'an, China. The families were desperately poor, living on incomes of less than $40 a year. In the years that followed, 12 generations of goats-about 1,100 goats in all-have been passed on from family to family. The families in Ya'an can now afford to send their children to school, buy food and medicine, and even build new homes. Many of the families have shown a strong commitment to helping their neighbors. Zhang Chao Fu, who received two second-generation goats, started a training center to help other farmers. When he was presented with a $1,000 reward for his work, he used the money to buy goats for other families and improve his training center.

In 2000, the organization sent 5 cows and 17 pigs to a boarding school for orphans with learning disabilities in Ukraine. The students learned to care for the animals and gained skills that will help them get jobs and become self-reliant. Milk from the animals has improved nutrition at the school, and manure has increased crop production. The school earns income by selling animals, milk, and other products. The offspring produced by the donated animals were passed on to another boarding school for orphans in the area.

When Dan West began Heifer International, he had a dream of helping others have a better life. Beatrice Biira also had a dream for her future. For Beatrice Biira and millions of others around the world, Heifer International has proved that a little help can go a long way toward making dreams come true.

1.	CONNECT Describe a dream you have for your future. Do you think your dream will ever come true? Explain.
2.	SEQUENCE What events led to Beatrice's attending Connecticut College?
3.	PRIOR KNOWLEDGE In what types of situations might people need food and other assistance from charities?
4.	INFER How is giving people livestock and training be a more lasting solution to their hunger than giving them food?
5.	CONNECT Describe a time when careful planning helped you achieve a success.
6.	INFER Why do the people in a community plant trees and grasses before their animals arrive?
7.	CONNECT What chores are you responsible for?
8.	PRIOR KNOWLEDGE What are some products that are made from wool?
9.	INFER How might Passing on the Gift strengthen a community?
10.	PRIOR KNOWLEDGE Name something you could buy for about $40.
11.	INFER How will the donation of animal offspring help the boarding schools that receive them?