Heifer International Living Loans: A Step on the Road to Self-Reliance

Heifer Project International
Thursday, 1 November 2001

LITTLE ROCK, AR - Since 1944, Heifer International has helped more than four million poor families in 125 countries become self-reliant through the gift of food- and income-producing animals and training in their care.

This year, Heifer will sponsor more than 300 projects and supply 26 types of animals to farm families in 44 countries and 38 states. HPI's "living loans" of livestock promote self-reliance, which builds self-esteem and helps families lift themselves out of poverty.

Milk, eggs, wool, draft power and other benefits from the animals provide families with food and income. Project animals - from cows and chickens to llamas and water buffalo - improve children's nutrition and help families earn money for education, clothes, health care and better housing.

HPI works at the grassroots level with an approach that lets people make their own decisions about how to improve their lives. As partners work together to overcome obstacles, they strengthen their communities and foster democracy. By training partners in environmentally sound, sustainable agriculture techniques, Heifer helps farmers improve their small plots of land for crops and enrich the environment for the future. Project recipients plant trees that add nutrients to the soil and provide animal forage, firewood and building material. Manure from the animals offers a safe, inexpensive alternative to chemical fertilizers.

HPI's requirement that families "pass on the gift" by sharing one or more of their animal's offspring with other needy families ensures project continuity and multiplies the benefits of the original gift for generations.

Through its time-tested approach and sustainable, environmentally sound methods, Heifer does much more than put food in the mouths of hungry people. Heifer helps hungry people feed themselves - an act that brings hope and builds stronger families, communities and, ultimately, a better world.

For more information, or to contact Heifer Project International, see their website at: www.heifer.org