Heifer International

Giving Tuesday is a global day of generosity to encourage us all to do a little good. To celebrate, a generous group of donors is matching all gifts from now until midnight by three more for 4X the impact. This means... $50 = $200 $100 = $400 $250 = $1,000 Join us and help four times as many families with a life-changing gift today. → http://ms.spr.ly/6047o8Z6S

Happy Thanksgiving! ❤️ We are so thankful for our incredible supporters and the hardworking farmers who are ending hunger and poverty around the world! 👏

This Thanksgiving, we're thankful for our generous supporters like Eli. With help from his mother, 7-year-old Eli sold handmade ornaments to raise money for Heifer International. "I’m Eli and I want to give an Ark-full of animals to help people who don’t have enough." Eli’s family has supported Heifer for decades, but Eli wanted to make an even bigger gift: an Ark to change the world two by two. An Ark of Heifer animals delivers more than $5,000 worth of impact — including all the training a family needs to turn their animals' byproducts into income, opportunity and hope. Eli gave a speech at church, and many supported his effort. "He spoke with such clarity and passion," said his mother, Katherine. "And sure enough, it paid off because they heard him, and they listened and they came through with their help." After raising more than $700 that first day, Eli's dream started to become reality. They continued to raise money, and with the help of an employer matching gift program at Katherine's job, they met Eli’s $5,000 goal for an Ark. "I kept Eli in the dark until Christmas, when I wrapped the Ark certificate and put it under the tree. He opened it with a huge smile and said, ‘This is the best Christmas present ever.’ It was for me, too. Eli did something at age 7 that I could never do. I’m so proud of him." A little hope and a big heart can work miracles. Eli’s Ark is at work today, helping families all over the world lift themselves from poverty.

We present to you the winners of the 2024 #AYuTeChallengeKe ! 🎉 🎉 Hearty congratulations to all six Winners! 🏆 #AYuTeChampionsKE

If smallholder farmers have taught us one thing, it’s the importance of sustainability. This Thanksgiving, we celebrate their capacity to protect the earth’s resources while strengthening food systems and building pathways to prosperity for all. #farmers #supportfarmers #ruralfarmers #sustainablefarming

Learn how we are working with Indigenous Mayan communities in Mexico to preserve seeds, build climate resilience, and forge viable agricultural livelihoods.

Here at #COP29 with my colleagues Sumnima Shrestha and Shyam Katta on Food, Water and Agriculture thematic day. Lots of talk about how we help farmers - especially smallholder farmers - deal with an increasingly volatile and extreme climate situation. For example at a The World Bank session, speakers active in the relief/humanitarian space emphasized that having early warning systems and available tools are just half the battle - countries themselves need to be in a position to interpret and act upon data and warnings that are shared. As an official from Lesotho put it at the event: "Do we have enough capacity in the Ministry of Agriculture or other institutions...to take up the information and determine what the impact will be downstream, so we ca properly inform and guide district managers, extension officers, etc." One element of helping farmers is to expand accessbility of crop and livestock insurance products, which Heifer International is doing with partners in some countries. Micol Mulon of World Food Programme' climate finance team described their approach in the R4 rural resiliene initiative which (like Heifer's) combines insurance with support to restore degrated lands, promotes improved ag practices as well as savings groups so that farmers actually can invest in climate-friendly technologies and approaches. Many speakers also highlighted the great urgency of the matter - such as CGIAR chief Ismahane Elouafi, who told a crowd at the U.S. pavillion that "the science is very clear. We're on track to exceed the 1.5C limit - it's at 1.3C above already. With every degree more there will be more malnourished people...there are 350 million in extreme hunger today, with a rise of 2C there would be 500M." Time to act!

“This year’s #COP29 discussions in Baku must prioritize the adaptation and resiliency needs of rural farmers, whose contributions to global food security and local economies are critical and cannot be overlooked.” - Oscar Castañeda Read our latest press release on Tropical Depression Sara and the need for immediate and direct support focused on resilience-building for smallholder farmers across Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula.

Unprecedented levels of drought in Latin America are leading to crop failures and strains on the agricultural sector, rising rates of hunger and poverty, and growing economic pressures driving migration. As global leaders hold critical climate talks at #COP29 this month, Heifer International is calling for leaders to deliver the below actions for smallholder farmers: • Secure a dramatic increase in climate financing for smallholder farmers including funding for adaptation and loss and damage. • Include indigenous farmers and smallholders in the climate decision-making process at all levels. Read our full release here → http://ms.spr.ly/6041WSCbL

With Heifer Nigeria's crop insurance program, farmers don’t have to start from scratch each time they incur losses and, for the first time, can build resilience over time. For Salamatu, the insurance program provided a lifeline when her family needed it most. "I was very grateful when that money came because we were facing a serious problem of starvation," she said. "So, I used it to feed myself and the children. I paid the children's school fees. I bought rice seeds and planted them, and I also bought chemicals and applied them. I am grateful. It has really helped me." Now, Salamatu has a new sense of confidence knowing her rice is insured, and she can finally afford to give her daughter, Shapa, nutritious, consistent meals. ❤️ Read more → http://ms.spr.ly/6041WYQf9