Heifer Update – July 16, 2021 – August 15, 2021

Another amazing month has passed with your generous donations. We have been able to donate a Water Buffalo and a Goat during this time period.

As the picture shows, the Water Buffalo is also used for relaxation. Such a wonderful animal that has enriched the lives of many.

As for the goat, I’ll let them speak for themselves.

Since the LUMM / Heifer Project was formed, about 4 years ago, this church and friends have donated 53 goats. And with the potential of 477 families lifting themselves out of hunger and poverty. I can only say, “Thank you, Lakeview.”

May God richly bless you and all the lives you have impacted.

Heifer Update 9/4

Due to the wonderful response of this congregation the 2nd Heifer of this campaign has been donated. To highlight the importance of a Gift of a Cow, I will include three short stories of success.

#1. A Heifer Project in Kenya taught Emmanuel’s family how to care for their cows, improve milk production and grow their own fodder. The family sells milk to earn much needed income, and his mother, Sylvania earns extra income from training farmers. Sylvania and her husband have been able to expand their home from one room to four, and they can afford nutritious meals for Emmanuel and his siblings as well as boarding school fees to give their children a better education.

#2. Florence received her first cow, Lucky, and training in her care from a Heifer Project in Uganda, from the sale of milk and calves that Lucky birthed. Florence was able to put all four of her children through school. Now that her children are grown and educated, the milk income is helping her grandchildren, meaning one gift from Heifer has impacted three generations. “All that I done, I have done it from Heifer,” says Florence. “My life is very, very changed.” 

#3. Delia Chakwera lives in Malawi. She was one of 10 children and only one to survive to adulthood. She married at 16 and soon had 3 daughters to feed. In 2015 she received a dairy cow from Heifer. She gave away the first born calf to fulfill the “Passing of the Gift”, she kept the second. Their cow produced about 10 litters of milk daily. They kept 2 litters for the family and sold the rest to pay for school fees for the girls. Before Heifer she took her girls to the hospital “almost every week”, Delia says. Now that they eat a nutritious diet, “months go by without visiting the hospital”.

Stories like these are multiplied many times through the Giving of a Heifer. Join the LUMM/Heifer Project to assure more stories like these come into being.

Heifer Update 9-13

Next up for donation in the “Got Milk?” Program is the Water Buffalo. The domesticated Water Buffalo is the “living tractor of the East” and has been introduced to Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, Australia, Japan and Hawaii. There are basically two types – river and swamp. The River Buffalo was present by 2500 BC in India and 1000 BC in Mesopotamia. This type was selected mainly for its milk, which contains up to 8% butterfat.

The Swamp Buffalo more closely resembles the wild Water Buffalo and are used as draft animals in rice paddies throughout Southeast Asia. Children often ride them to their wallows after their labors and clean their faces and ears. A Thailand recipient of a “Heifer” was once asked, “How important is your Water Buffalo?” He replied, “If I die, my family will weep for me. If my Buffalo dies, my family will starve.”

So, when we donate a Water Buffalo and training in its care, we can expect it to lead a hungry family out of poverty and give them a chance for a bright future filled with hope and free from hunger. Help us meet our goal of donating a Water Buffalo. Thank you from the LUMM/Heifer Project.

Heifer Update 9/20

Just look at those floppy ears. Why? This is one reason why Goats can survive in almost any climate, making them the perfect way for families around the world to start small businesses and lift themselves out of poverty. 

Now to Southern Nepal where we meet Ganga Gharti and her husband, Rudra Pun. From 1996-2006 a civil war swallowed rural Nepal. During those 10 years 18,000 people died in that conflict. Nepal also led the world in daily abductions. It was in the middle of that war that Maoists recruited (by abduction) both Gharti and Pun. “Our families looked for us,” Pun said. “But our families considered us dead.” It was there that Pun and Gharti met and felt a bond.

As the Maoists lost some power, Pun and Gharti took the opportunity to escape and start a new life. For six months they moved around while avoiding people they knew. They settled in a small rural town, Rihar. They didn’t have income and cooked a wild radish, which was mostly eaten by Goats. Then they discovered Heifer Nepal. After intensive training they received 2 Goats. Seven years later they have 55. They have a newly constructed 2 story house in which they spent a lot of time helping their 12 year old son and 7 year old daughter with their studies. Rudra Pun says “we decided that we wanted to stay here forever.”

Heifer Update 9-27

Last Tuesday we sent in the donation of a Water Buffalo, our second in this series of the “Got Milk?” campaign. We pray she will bring offspring, milk, meat and a large amount of draft power to her new family.

Next up on our donation list is the Goat. As with the Water Buffalo, she too has a line-up of commodities to give her new family.

I received an urgent message from Heifer International regarding Haiti. They were very hard hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, leaving almost 2,000 dead, and thousands more injured. Several days later, a devastating tropical storm battered the island. Members of the Heifer staff and project participants suffered flooding and other home damages. Many crops were also lost. Heifer did not have a count of how many animals were injured or killed. Animals are crucial to the livelihood and well being of their projects. Heifer has distributed food and water to many of their project families. They have also supplied tents and tarps to families who lost everything. Gifts of Heifer animals and our prayers would be a great help to re-establish those families.

Please donate today.