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Begun in the aftermath of World War II by Dan West of the Church of the Brethren. Along with the Quakers and the Mennonites, the Church of the Brethren is one of the historic peace denominations whose founder, Alexander Mack, equated all war with sin.
During WWII, West and some of his cohorts were touring the war-ravaged areas of Italy, and decided that something had to be done to alleviate the suffering of the population. Starting with the symbolic airlift of one cow (named Faith) to Europe, West began the Heifer Project, bringing livestock to people impoverished by the war to help them back to self-sufficiency.
In addition to supplying stock (whether it's cows or ducks or goats or sheep or bees), Heifer Project also follows through with training in animal husbandry and setting people up so that they can succeed on their own. For that person who has everything on your holiday gift list, you can give a hive of bees to a farmer who needs them to cross-pollinate his crop for a mere $30. Or a share of a goat for $10 (or a full gift for $120), which will produce healthful milk for a family, and enough milk to spare to sell to other villagers, making that family self-sufficient.
In case you're wondering, yes, I'm Church of the Brethren, and very proud of the incredible work Heifer Project does all over the world. It long ago outgrew its Brethren beginnings, but the project and the spirit are in the finest traditions of Christian giving, and well worth your donations.
Humorous side story about Heifer Project's early days: Dan West and a group of investors went back to Italy after the war to check up on how folks were doing. In village after village, the success of the people in re-taking control of their lives was recounted, and the offspring from the original animals were proudly displayed. Sadly, the original animals were unavailable, having met with tragedy: A fall into a ditch or a collision with a car or some other deadly happenstance. The delegation moved on, but some of their follow-up group found out the real reason. The people thought that Heifer Project was there to take back the original animals, so they hid them away, not wanting to be parted from animals that had given them their lives back. They were reassured that the animals they'd been given were truly theirs and no one was going to take them back.
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