Heifer International

Re-Namaste Nepal!

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Betty Londergan

After the rather cold, gray monotony of China’s cities, going to Nepal was like stumbling out into a blaze of riotous sunshine.I was pretty cranky that I didn’t get to make my planned trip to Tibet (no way is China giving a visa to a western blogger), but it’s hard to hold onto a grudge in Kathmandu. Because of its decades of tourism with trekkers, Kathmandu can seem almost western in its food, shopping and pursuits of pleasure, but right outside the city (and even inside) the essential Nepal comes clearly into view. From the indomitable women who have been working Heifer International programs for the last 25 years and bringing entire communities of powerless wives into economic security…To the caste system of untouchables who are likewise being included in Heifer projects and given a chance to succeed…

Beautiful Chepang girl, from an untouchable caste.

To the Hindu temples where cremations take place along the river (with biers divided along caste lines– even after death)..

A fancy sandalwood bier for the Brahmin class only.

..and milk is poured down in sacrifice to one of the 44,000 gods.Nepal boasts all the majesty and mystery of the Himalayans hovering in the distance…

Yup, that’s Everest!

…but still struggles with poverty, hunger, a chaotic communist regime, and a highly stratified society. And yet, Nepal is one of the most lovely, likeable, unforgettable countries I visited.

A Heifer veterinarian

I want to go back: to walk the Annapurna circuit, to meet more of the women who so inspired me…

A woman in the cooperative at Shaktikor.

A woman in the cooperative at Shatkikohr.

…and to see more of the work Heifer is doing in this intriguing country.

That’s some heifer!

Plus, there are a few folks I need to say Namaste to. For more Nepal & more Namaste, click on the posts below:

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/05/29/a-new-namaste/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/05/26/what-i-ate-in-nepal/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/05/24/she-works-hard-for-the-money-less/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/05/21/caste-ing-a-stone-against-prejudice/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/05/18/goat-ed-into-greatness/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/05/16/divine-peaks-intransigent-maoists-or-welcome-to-nepal/

Categories: Animals, Heifer International, Hunger, Nepal, Philanthropy, Photography, Travel | Tags: Chepang, Communist regime, Cremation, Everest, Goma, Himalayans, Hindu gods, Kathmandu, Namaste, Pashupatinath, Shatkikohr, Tibet | 12 Comments

China Re-mix.

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Betty Londergan

Having dutifully swallowed all the negative publicity we’ve been served up in this country about China (and added some of my own piquant paranoia) — it began to seem like a place I would never want to go.

But once I got to China, on my fourth month of traveling for Heifer International, I found it was much like any other place on the planet: filled with beautiful people working hard to make their lives and the lives of their children a little bit easier, sweeter, and more secure.

I spent my time in Sichuan province, in the western part of China. It is a place of big, impersonal cities and lovely contemplative country-sides– but no, I didn’t stop to see any pandas (sigh).

However, I did experience the incredible ethnic groups of the Yi people (the women are intensely fabulous, with headdresses right out of the Witches of Eastwick)…

… And I met the kindest, most gentle AIDS mother making a living with her Heifer pigs for her three young children …

Waqi Wunin, my personal heroine

…and I visited a small village making a big comeback from the terrible earthquake of 2010, despite it being populated almost solely by women my age (probably a good bit younger).

The intrepid women of Fuxing Village & me.

And of course, I was served some totally amazing food – and ate my wimpy vegetarian share of it.In China, I had the unique opportunity to sit down and talk to ordinary rural Chinese people who were struggling to cope with life outside the megalopolis–and whose stories turned out to be riveting.

A circle of trust (and roasted potatoes)

I also realized that I wasn’t the only one who was perhaps a little skeptical of the foreigner. But more than anything, I had the same epiphany I had in every Heifer country I visited last year —

… that the poverty we don’t see around us is still there …

… that animals are beautiful and full of potent power to change the trajectory of a family’s life ..

… and there is literally nothing more universally beautiful than a smile.To follow me through the pages of yesteryear (in China) click on a story:

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/04/30/first-impressions-of-china/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/05/02/high-but-not-dry-in-yi-country-china/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/05/04/not-exactly-a-tiger-mom/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/05/07/a-scaredy-cat-taste-of-china/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/05/09/a-beautiful-life/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/05/14/farewell-my-lovely/

Categories: Animals, Children, China, Farming, Heifer International, Hunger, Photography, Poverty, Travel | Tags: AIDS in China, Chengdu, Dala Amo, Fuxing Village, Jingu Village, Meigu, Sichuan province, Waxi Town, Yi People, Zhaojoue | 16 Comments

Deep Thoughts About Peru…

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Betty Londergan

Fourteen years ago, I went to Peru, visited Machu Picchu, Cusco and Lima, and figured I’d seen the country.

Machu Picchu… check!

Last year, going back to Peru with Heifer, I realized what a boneheaded assumption that was. For one thing, the country has changed radically since 1999. Lima’s population is now approaching 9 million and the city is far more glamorous and glittery than it was back then, although the slums on the outskirts of Lima stretch for miles and are truly grim.

RivasMoney photo from Wikipedia.

Despite the country’s huge economic advances (no Latin American or Caribbean economy grew faster than Peru’s from 2001 to 2011) over 30% of Peruvians are still poor — and the struggle to survive is concentrated in the sierra (highlands) and the selva (Amazonian jungle) where Heifer works.

While Peru is beautiful in almost every conceivable way…

Gorgeous Lake Titicaca

…this country twice the size of Texas is packed with copper, gold and zinc, ripe for mining. And its climate poses a bit of an agricultural challenge, to say the least.

In the sierra, it’s difficult to raise much of anything except potatoes…

A million hours of work to create an arable plot of land.

A million hours of work went into building terraces to create arable land at 10,000 feet.

….and just about the only animals that can survive the altitude and cold are sturdy llama and alpaca.

The people who live in the highlands, where I spent most of my time wheezing for breath at 8-12,000 feet, are mostly indigenous and are now embroiled in an epic battle to save their beloved mountains from rapacious mining interests (that also threaten to destroy the jungles).

Pasco City is right on top of this ugly open mine.

They are hard-working, proud, creative and fiercely independent people.

…and I have so much respect for Heifer working with those communities to help them make a living on the land.

17-year old Rebecca Yanac keeps the breeding records for the family's alpaca herd.

17-year old Rebecca Yanac keeps the breeding records for her family’s alpaca herd.

I usually never like to go back anyplace (there are too many new places to see) but I reckon I’ll be going back to Peru soon.

For one thing, I’ve got a new god-daughter there.

Leidy Melisa Arpasi Calle (before I cut her braids & became her godmother)

And I’ve got some other important people I need to check on, too.To read my previous blogs on Peru (including explicit alpaca lovemaking– and the story of my new god-daughter) check these links:

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/03/29/bienvenidos-a-peru/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/03/30/just-sitting-around-knitting-and-changing-the-world/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/04/02/showered-with-flowers/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/04/04/my-cinderella-story/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/04/09/edith-piaf-in-the-andes/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/04/12/what-i-ate-in-peru/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/04/15/feeling-the-love-in-yanacancha/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/04/18/a-fiber-primer-for-yarnheads-2/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/04/20/guinea-pigs-not-just-for-breakfast-anymore/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/04/23/ive-got-friends-in-high-places/

http://heifer12x12.com/2012/04/26/never-can-say-goodbye/

Categories: Heifer International, Peru, Philanthropy, Photography, Travel | Tags: Chillcapata, Economic growth in Peru, Godddaughters, Heifer in Peru, Indigenous people in Peru, Lima, Machu Pichu, Mining in Peru, Pasco, Puno, Sierra in Peru, The Andes, Yanacancha | 19 Comments

Haiti Re-Mix.

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Betty Londergan

(As a graduate of UMass and with two sisters still living there, my heart goes out to Boston and to ALL those whose family members were hurt.) Okay, I know it’s April– which means I’m a tiny bit behind in my Remix intention to go back and feature some of my favorite (never-seen-before!) photos from each of the countries I visited for Heifer International last year.

But whenever I start going through my photos, I get completely lost in the glorious faces whose stories I remember so well.

I remember being scared to go to Haiti — afraid the poverty and desperation in the aftermath of the 2010 hurricane would still be overwhelming.

Well, there were still tents up and houses in ruins (although most are gone now). But instead of buying the heartless line you hear so often: “Oh, Haiti is always recovering from one disaster or another,” I found myself head-over-heels in love with the people of Haiti.

The way they walk with such pride and grace.

The way they will do anything to get their children an education.

The way the children walk out of murky, dirt-caked slums looking as clean and tidy as little angels…

… and people work & work & work, with a determination and optimism that is remarkable to behold.

To say the people of Haiti embody resilience, dignity, strength and perseverance is an understatement.

Even the land, which is admittedly largely deforested, is still beautiful.

I can’t wait to go back and see what Heifer has been doing there! Pierre Ferrari, Heifer’s CEO, just visited some projects with President Bill Clinton and he reports the big goat-breeding operations are really going strong (and god knows, Bill loves to talk about breeding).

I miss Haiti. But if you missed the whole shebang last February, you can still read all my blogs on Haiti by clicking on the links below.

I’ll leave you with a Haitian saying which, oddly, was one of my Mom’s favorites, too.

Men anpil chay pa lou. (Many hands make the load lighter.)

Let’s hope so!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The Paradox of Haiti” http://heifer12x12.com/2012/02/23

“Staring at Goats” http://heifer12x12.com/2012/02/27

“This is SO not a road” http://heifer12x12.com/2012/02/29

“What I Ate in Haiti” http://heifer12x12.com/2012/03/03

“Cows, Fudge & Women in Haiti” http://heifer12x12.com/2012/03/05

“The Price of a Chair” http://heifer12x12.com/2012/03/08

“A Mother in Haiti” http://heifer12x12.com/2012/03/09

“A Fish Full of Dollars” http://heifer12x12.com/2012/03/14

“A Rough Draft of My Last Day in Haiti” http://heifer12x12.com/2012/03/18

“My admittedly tardy International Women’s Day Post” http://heifer12x12.com/2012/03/18

Categories: Haiti, Heifer International, Inspiration, Photography, Travel | Tags: Cap Hatien, Deforestation, Degand, Development in Haiti, Fighting hunger in Haiti, Goats, Haiti, Heifer International, Port au Prince, Post-hurricane relief, President Bill Clinton, Why I love Haiti | 9 Comments

Guatemala Re-Mix.

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Betty Londergan

Beautiful, mesmerizing Lake Atitlan

I’ve been feeling really bad about leaving my Heifer blog behind and abandoning all my new followers –love you guys!! — who haven’t been getting any new posts from me.