Heifer International
Location: Nicaragua
Grant Amount: $16,440
Grantee Website: www.heifer.org
Areas of Impact: Economic Sustainability, Environmental Sustainability & Climate Action
Mission of Heifer International
To work with communities to end hunger and poverty and to care for the earth.
Summary
At its founding in 1944, Heifer International (HI) dedicated itself to ending hunger permanently by providing families with livestock and training so that they “could be spared the indignity of depending on others to feed their children.” HI works with grassroots community groups in project planning and in training for animal well-being, agroecology, water quality, gender equity and community development. The Women in Livestock Development (WILD) Program is a special vehicle through which HI targets gender equity. 70% of the participants in WILD's projects must be female; thus, women are the primary participants, while men learn to share in labor and decision-making with them (children can participate too). Dining for Women's (DFW) gift will provide the livestock and training this year and over a third of the total livestock and training budget for the five-year project. Any surplus DFW raises will be designated for other aspects of the project, such as farm supplies and equipment.
Why We Love This
HI has helped 9.2 million families in more than 125 countries move toward greater self-reliance. Its distinctive strategy is "passing on the gift”—a family donates the offspring of its gift animals to another family, so the gift continues to grow. Like DFW, HI believes that both education and women’s stories empower committed giving, help end poverty and create world community. And while DFW's goal is small compared to HI’s overall budget, it is crucial to the Boaco Project, which DFW likes for its simple but effective strategy to empower women in communities and families and connect them through “passing the gift." DFW is eager to support food security projects, like this one, which support women and sustainable agriculture. DFW values HI’s holistic approach to gender equity in all its programming and focus on women in WILD projects.
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