I got the best Christmas gift in 2009. My husband discovered an organization called Heifer International. It is a charity that donates farm animals to people in third world countries. When I opened my Christmas present, I found a receipt for a milk goat, which had been donated to a poor family in Peru. I was so thrilled! I've always wanted a milk goat, but I don't have time to take care of one, since I'm so busy with the garden and the seed business. So now I have the goat of my dreams, and it is providing milk for a family who really needs it.
My husband also gave each of the kids a gift from Heifer International. For them, he donated honey bees. We don't know which country the bees were sent to, but I'm sure that they went to a grateful family who can use them to improve their lives. The choice of honey bees was significant for my husband since he used to keep bees until he had a severe reaction to a bee sting last year. That incident almost cost him his life. Still, he was very sad about having to give up beekeeping, so this donation was an important part of the healing process for him. He told us, with tears in his eyes, how happy it made him to think of the needy families who are benefitting from our donations.
I can't think of a better way to help those in need than to provide them with a way to help themselves. You know the saying, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." (Lao Tzu) Heifer International doesn't just give away the animals. They teach the people how to care for them and increase their value by propagating the species and sharing the offspring with other people in need.
This is the kind of charitable organization that I like to contribute to. Our government could learn a thing or two from this organization that might improve the welfare system.
The other benefit to this type of charity is that it helps people beyond the physical level. The work involved in gardening and raising farm animals helps people to grow themselves. This is why gardening and raising animals has been so important for us in raising our kids. Our children have developed a sense of responsibility and a work ethic that is rarely seen in young people these days.
There are other groups that have similar ideals and goals. My sister works for a non-profit organization called Working Capital for Community Needs (WCCN). As explained on their website, "Utilizing the powerful tool of microcredit, WCCN provides low-income Latin American entrepreneurs and small farmers access to financing so they can grow their operations and work their way out of poverty."
My sister says that most of these entrepreneurs, many of whom are women, are successful and are able to pay back the loans in a relatively short amount of time. If you are looking for a reliable charity to contribute to, I highly recommend this organization. You won't have to worry about your money being misappropriated. The people who run this organization are not being paid exorbitant salaries. In fact, my sister, who is a highly educated money manager, took a huge pay cut when she decided to quit her old job and dedicate her life to working for WCCN. She also risks her life every year to travel to Nicaragua to check up on how things are being managed there.
Recently I had the opportunity to donate some seeds to a gardening program at the Illinois Department of Corrections. I frequently get donation requests from elementary schools and other groups that teach children how to garden, but this is the first time I have donated to a prison. The chaplain who wrote to me said that many of the prisoners have lifetime sentences. As I packaged the seeds, I wondered what that must be like. I later commented to a friend, "Maybe some of the prisoners will find God in the garden."
The next few years are sure to be very difficult for all of us as our country's financial problems continue to worsen. But let's not get so caught up in our own losses that we forget our blessings. We all have something to share -- even if it's just our gardening skills and the seeds that we save.
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