This is the VOA Special English Development Report.
One of the biggest problems in developing countries is hunger. Anorganization called Heifer International is working to improve thissituation. The organization sends needed farm animals to familiesand communities around the world.
An American farmer, Dan West, developed the idea for HeiferInternational in the nineteen-thirties. Mister West was working inSpain where he discovered a need for cows. Many families werestarving because of a civil war in that country. So Mister Westasked his friends in the United States to send some cows. The firstHeifer animals were sent in nineteen-forty-four.
Since that time, more than four-million people in overone-hundred countries have had better lives because of Heiferanimals. The organization provides families a chance to feedthemselves and become self-supporting. It provides more than twentykinds of animals, such as sheep, goats, pigs and cows. In one recentyear Heifer International helped more than thirty-thousand familiesin forty-six countries.
To receive a Heifer animal, groups must first explain their needsand goals. They must also make a plan which will allow them tobecome self-supporting. Local experts usually provide training. Theorganization says that animals must have food, water, shelter,health care, and the ability to reproduce. Without them, the animalswill not remain healthy and productive.
Heifer International also believes that groups must pass on someof their success to others in need. This belief guarantees that eachperson who takes part in the program also becomes a giver. Everyfamily that receives a Heifer animal must agree to give thatanimal’s first female baby to other people in need. Families mustalso agree to pass on the skills and training they received fromHeifer International. This concept of “passing on the gift” helpscommunities become self-supporting.
You can learn more about Heifer International and how to requestan animal. You can write to the organization at HeiferInternational, Post Office Box eight-zero-five-eight, Little Rock,Arkansas, seven-two-two-zero-three, U-S-A. Or you can visit thegroup’s Internet web site at www.heifer.org.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by JillMoss.