I have located an organization that helps the poor all over the world by training them to care for a specific animal that is best for their location and then giving them one. It helps them with food, manure for their gardens and income. The receiving family then trains another family and gives them their first female offspring. Thought some of you might be interested. I think you can volunteer also. Check out www.heifer.org

-- Vaughn (vdcjm5@juno.com), April 11, 2000

Answers

I have heard great things about this organization and will check it out for sure. Thanks so much for the info. I wish we had the same thing in the U.S....or maybe someone knows about a similar organization here...it's the "teach a man to fish" philosophy!

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), April 11, 2000.

I had always hoped that Habitat for Humanity would catch on to a --you help me, I'll help you--nieghborhood organization. I had hoped it would be like the old barn raising efforts of the older communities. It never happened--although I agree with Habitat's efforts, I became disillusioned with the selection process. You almost have to prove that you have been sexually reckless(7 or more kids) and your a single parent with a job at McDonalds(part time) to qualify. I have helped build over 110 Habitat houses and I was the 1988 walk from Portland Maine to Atlanta, Ga's transporation coordinator but it seemed we were" tearing down the old slums and building new ones" I was unable to come to terms with this program. I did like that statement above abbout -- train you and YOU train others.

-- Joel Rosen (Joel681@webtv.net), April 12, 2000.

heifer project DOES help those in our country - in some of the paperwork they've sent, they indicate that they help the poor in the Appalachian mts. area.

-- Judi (ddecaro@snet.net), April 12, 2000.

The heifer project helps people in other parts of the country too -- we gave them some of our sheep (crossbred shetland/merinos) a few years ago for a family in Maine with a farm on an island off the coast. I hope they did well with them -- we decided after a couple of generations that the cross wasn't all that great. (We'd gotten them cheap from neighbors who were raising purebreds of each breed, and discovered the hard way that those little shetland rams can jump fences!).

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), April 12, 2000.

I have heard of the Heifer organization and several years ago a group I belong to chose them to receive our donation. It seemed to be a good organization and made sense to be helping to "teach them to fish".

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), April 12, 2000.

Check out these folks also

http://www.echonet.org/

They seem to be doing some good stuff too.

J

-- j (jw_hsv@yahoo.com), April 18, 2000.