Gifts That Give (pt 01)
Posted by Bronson Enriquez on May 3rd 2008 in NEED Magazine, Organizations
In countries like Romania, Heifer cows are providing hope for the future in impoverished communities.
Photo | Courtesy of Heifer InternationalIssue 04 | Generosity
Writer: Liz Werner
Heifer International
In lieu of shopping until the cows come home, why not help bring a cow to someone’s home? For more than 60 years, Heifer International has been providing livestock and agricultural training to communities throughout the world who struggle for reliable sources of food and income. Through the nonprofit’s “Most Important Gift Catalog in the World” that can be found online, individuals can gift a variety of items such as seedlings, honey bees, cows, sheep, llamas, water buffalo, goats, flocks of geese, chicks and ducks.
“I am grateful to Heifer and to God for this project,” says Pedro Lopez. “We are building a better future for our children and grandchildren.”
Photo | Courtesy of Heifer International
Once received, an animal will provide milk, eggs, wool or fertilizer — all of which can be sold to increase a household’s income. A single cow can produce up to four gallons of protein-rich milk every day. The milk provides children with nourishment and families with an income through the sale of its surplus. The fertilizer produced by the cow assists in the growth of crops. A healthy cow can birth a calf every year, which means that the gift of one cow could eventually help an entire community.
Heifer offers the option to gift a whole or a share of livestock and agricultural items with themes well-suited for various giving occasions. Whether you are looking to spend $10 USD or $10,000 USD, this is a unique way to give a gift that will help families who struggle with hunger and poverty throughout the world.
heifer international
1 world avenue
little rock, ar 72202
usa
800.422.0474
www.heifer.org
Nothing but Nets
Rick Reilly meets with a Nigerian family to talk about the effects of malaria.
Photo | Courtesy of Mike Dubose, UMC-Nothing But Nets
A Nigerian mother and her children sit next to the insecticide-treated net that protects them while they sleep.
Photo | Courtesy of Mike Dubose, UMC-Nothing But Nets
Peaceful slumber is something we all need. Night is a time to close our eyes, relax and drift slowly into the unconscious. However, in regions where malaria runs rampant, night proves to be an unsettling and dangerous time. Most mosquitoes carrying this potentially deadly infection bite humans between the hours of 10 p.m. and 4 a.m., leaving those asleep unknowingly vulnerable. Yet a simple and effective preventative measure can be taken to stop the spread of malaria: an insecticide-treated net that covers the beds of sleeping individuals.
Nothing But Nets is a campaign to save lives by delivering insecticide-treated bed nets to Africa to prevent the transmission of malaria. The campaign was inspired by Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly and created by the United Nations Foundation in May 2006. Other campaign partners include the National Basketball Association’s NBA Cares, Sports Illustrated and the Women’s National Basketball Association. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation also matches individual donations dollar for dollar.
To date, the campaign has distributed more than 400,000 nets to families in Africa. A donation of $10 USD to Nothing But Nets covers the cost of purchasing and distributing a net, as well as educating communities in its use. Coated with insecticide, the nets repel and kill mosquitoes that attempt to enter where families sleep, in turn guarding them against malaria infections. Who knows, you may even sleep a bit easier knowing that someone else will too.
united nations foundation
nothing but nets
po box 96539
washington, dc 20090
usa
info@nothingbutnets.net
www.nothingbutnets.net
Hero Rats
Using its sense of smell, a HeroRAT discovers an explosive device. Photo | Courtesy of HeroRAT
Move over Mighty Mouse, there is a new heroic rodent in town — the rat. There are more landmines in Africa than in any other continent and their threat is very real. Every day people are maimed or killed by landmines. Through a program aptly titled HeroRAT, the African giant pouched rat is trained to exercise its powerful sense of smell to detect landmines and other dangerous explosives. If this scenario seems far-fetched, consider this, in Mozambique de-mining rats have cleared more than 400.000 square meters (4,306 square feet) of land. Moreover, communities of Tanzania, Burundi and Angola have welcomed this landmine detection program. HeroRAT has also been endorsed by the 11 Great Lakes Region countries of Africa to de-mine their common borders.
The HeroRAT program was created by the nonprofit Apopo and its team of Belgian researchers in 1997. The organization’s founder, Bart Weetjens, has always had a strong interest in rodents. When his project was in its initial stage, many people he approached for funding doubted the rats’ potential. However, once examined, the trained rats’ abilities proved how well-suited they are for de-mining.
Why rats? For one, rats have an incredible sense of smell — about one million times better than a human’s. The rats’ training builds on this ability by teaching them to identify the smell of chemical vapors present in explosives. While metal detectors pick up activity from any metal (including nails, cans and other non-explosives), rats distinguish between explosive metals and non-explosive metals. They can also detect explosives encased in plastic. Unlike dogs and humans, rats are too light to accidentally set off a mine. This breed of rats has the advantage over dogs in Africa because it is native to the area; therefore, less susceptible to tropical diseases. Rats are relatively inexpensive to feed, breed and transport. They have an affinity for performing repetitive tasks and a life span of almost eight years in captivity.
Training rats to de-mine is a process using Pavlovian techniques that starts shortly after birth. Working through a series of exercises with human trainers, the rats become tame and social. Before they are allowed to perform in the field, the rats must pass a training test in which they identify each explosive item in the testing area without any mistakes. For fundraising purposes, HeroRAT has an adoption program where individuals can adopt a rat for roughly $7 USD per month. Donors receive an official adoption certificate, pictures of the rat “in action,” email correspondence with the rat, regular updates from trainers on its individual progress and updates from Tanzania about the project. According to Weetjens, the organization is preparing rats for new tasks that include identifying tuberculosis cases and entering rubble at disaster sites to seek out victims. It looks as though there is much more in store for these courageous creatures.
herorat
sokoine university of agriculture
po box 3078
morogoro
tanzania
+255 23 2600 635
supporterservice@herorat.org
www.herorat.org
Oxfam Unwrapped
The Oxfam Unwrapped catalog shows a range of unconventional gifts. Photos | Courtesy of Oxfam Unwrapped
A can of worms, a life jacket and a hygiene kit all seem unlikely gifts for a wish list. But for some, these practical gifts provide aid in a time of emergency or help in the transition out of poverty.
Oxfam, an international relief and development organization, creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger and injustice. Through the Oxfam Unwrapped catalog, donors can purchase gifts that are put to use in more than 120 countries. Individuals can search this online catalog to learn about the value of agricultural and livestock gifts.
Items include beadwork whose handcrafting generates income for HIV-affected women, disaster warning systems to help communicate safe pathways, camels to provide transportation in extreme conditions, fair trade honey harvested by small-scale rural farmers, emergency toilets and seedlings to create a garden. Search by category (including “green” gifts, emergency essentials and furred and feathered) or price point (under $25 USD to over $500 USD) and you are bound to find a gift that knocks the holiday socks off of that oh-so-hard-to-shop-for person on your list.
oxfam america
226 causeway street
5th floor
boston, ma 02114
usa
800.776.9326
info@oxfamamerica.org
www.oxfamamerica.org
UniversalGiving
Flora Callisaya, 38, is a single mother to three boys. Barely able to sustain her family with her earnings, Flora went to Pro Mujer to get a loan and decided to join their savings program. Through these services, Flora has expanded her printing business and explored new enterprises. She and her family have taken advantage of Pro Mujer’s health services and computer classes. Her savings have enabled her to buy her own land and build a house. Photo | Courtesy of Pro Mujer
Individuals participate in a basic computer training session offered by Develop Africa, Inc. in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Hands-on training sessions cover an introduction to computers, word processing and spreadsheets. Photo | Courtesy of Develop Africa, Inc.
Sports Gift donated soccer equipment to a community center in Juarez, Mexico to start a boy’s team. The boys formed their own team and entered local competitions. Three months later, seeing how much fun the boys were having, the girls in the community requested soccer equipment to start a girl’s team. Sports Gift donated the soccer equipment for the girls, and today both teams are thriving. Photo | Courtesy of Sports Gift
Interested in giving but not quite sure to whom? Interested in volunteering but not quite sure where? UniversalGiving is an organization that provides an interactive network to connect individuals with projects that meet their interests, price range and availability.
Founded in June 2002, UniversalGiving is a social entrepreneurship nonprofit whose vision is to “create a world where giving and volunteering are a natural part of everyday life.” The organization’s Web site makes everyday giving easy. It allows users to search for organizations, projects, volunteer opportunities and gift packages by region and topic of interest. Categories range from health and education to microfinance, conflict resolution and technology. The organization also offers a service called “UniversalGiving Corporate,” which matches corporations with both volunteer and donor activities.
Pamela Hawley, founder and CEO of UniversalGiving, says that the organization prides itself on evaluating the quality of the programs and organizations in its online network. “What we’re really driving towards is getting as much money to the nonprofits, making it as quality as possible … to integrate it in people’s lives,” she says.
universalgiving
560 sutter street
suite 210
san francisco, ca 94102
usa
415.296.9193
info@universalgiving.org
www.universalgiving.org
(story continued tomorrow)
