History

• Dan West served as a relief worker in Spain following the Spanish Civil War that took place in the late 1930s. The Church of the Brethren, of which West was a member, recounts that while passing out rations of milk, it occurred to West that once the milk was drunk, it was gone forever, and it would be wiser to provide the livestock to produce the milk. He formed the volunteer Heifers for Relief Committee and shipped the first 17 cows to Puerto Rico in 1944. Later, the committee was known as the Heifer Project and, after West’s death in 1971, the Heifer Project was incorporated and became Heifer Project International.
  
  

What Heifer Does

• Heifer now distributes many different animals.long eared goat image by fotomagic from Fotolia.com
  
  The Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) Charity Review of Heifer explains that the organization gives food, animals, education, and agricultural resources to poor families worldwide. The families are educated in animal care and “environmentally sound agricultural practices so they can lift themselves out of poverty and become self-reliant.” The animals--now including bees, chickens, ducks, fish, goats, horses, pigs, sheep and even yaks, among many others--provide milk, eggs, wool, labor, and meat.
  
  

Passing on the Gift

• Offspring are given to other needy families.mama cow & baby calf image by Gail Ranney from Fotolia.com
  
  One of the central tenets of Heifer International is that participants must agree to “pass on the gift.” Families and communities who receive donations must agree, in turn, to become donors, giving offspring from their livestock to another family in need. Heifer believes that “this concept helps build community and enhances dignity and participation in each project.”
  
  

Where Heifer Helps

• Heifer International helps communities and families worldwide.world image by jeancliclac from Fotolia.com
  
  Heifer International’s work is a global effort. The charity currently operates in over 50 countries worldwide including Canada, the United States, Ecuador, Argentina, and Mexico in the Americas. Central and Eastern European countries receiving help include Albania, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and the Ukraine. Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and Zimbabwe are among the African nations receiving Heifer donations. Heifer is also active in the Asian and South Pacific region in countries such as Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, among others.
  
  

Education

• Heifer International provides education to those receiving aid, but also offers broader educational opportunities. In addition to teachers' resources for the classroom, and a magazine, The World Ark, Heifer organizes study tours around the world for individuals interested in visiting Heifer sites, meeting with participants and communities involved in Heifer development projects, and learning about the history and culture of the country. Heifer also has two Learning Centers in the United States, with a third opening in 2011, for hands-on experience learning about sustainable agricultural practices.