August 4, 2003 - Journal and Courier Online : USDA honors Ecuador RPCV Dick Moore for work with Hiefer International

Peace Corps Online: Peace Corps News: Headlines: Peace Corps Headlines - 2003: August 2003 Peace Corps Headlines: August 4, 2003 - Journal and Courier Online : USDA honors Ecuador RPCV Dick Moore for work with Hiefer International

By Admin1 (admin) on Wednesday, August 06, 2003 - 12:08 am: Edit Post

USDA honors Ecuador RPCV Dick Moore for work with Hiefer International





Read and comment on this story from the Journal and Courier Online about Ecuador RPCV Dick Moore and his work with Hiefer International. His son, Eric, and daughter-in-law, April. Eric and April began training last week for a Peace Corps assignment. Moore was honored for his work with Heifer International, which helps rural communities become self-sufficient by raising and sharing livestock. He worked with the Christian organization, which has headquarters in Little Rock, Ark., during his Peace Corps term in Ecuador. Read the story at:

USDA honors Frankfort native*

* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.



USDA honors Frankfort native

By Beth Hlavek, Journal and Courier

Frankfort, Indiana - A life of service has come full circle for a retired U.S. Department of Agriculture director and Heifer International volunteer.

FAMILY TRADITION: Dick Moore holds the USDA Humanitairan Service Award, which he received for volunteer work that started with the Peace Corps in the 1960s. On his left is his wife, Grace, and to his right are his son, Eric, and daughter-in-law, April. Eric and April began training last week for a Peace Corps assignment.
(Photo provided)

Frankfort native Dick Moore, 63, returned to his hometown this summer, shortly after receiving the USDA Humanitarian Service Award for volunteer work that started with the Peace Corps in the 1960s.

Now his son, Eric, 25, and daughter-in-law, April, 23, are on a similar Peace Corps journey, after arriving in Honduras on Wednesday. The couple is in training for a two-year assignment.

"It was kind of like when I left," Moore said. "Part of the hardest part about it is leaving. It was not easy for me. It wasn't easy for him either."

Moore moved to Clinton County from Topeka, Kan., where he spent 15 years as USDA director of risk management. He spent a total of 33 years working with farm families through the USDA.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman presented the Humanitarian Service Award during the 57th annual USDA Honor Awards in Washington, D.C.

"It was quite an honor," Moore said. "It's kind of the highest honor that could be received. It was quite an event."

Moore was honored for his work with Heifer International, which helps rural communities become self-sufficient by raising and sharing livestock. He worked with the Christian organization, which has headquarters in Little Rock, Ark., during his Peace Corps term in Equador.

"The 2003 Honor Awards provide an ideal opportunity to recognize those who have shown humanity to rural Americans and provided strong leadership in world food security and trade," Veneman said.

"Simply put, the honorees have touched people and improved lives in a quiet selfless way."

Moore returned to Ecuador for two weeks to survey the progress made by Heifer International projects.

"The main work of Heifer International is to develop long-term help for rural communities so they can start to raise some food for their families," he said.

"If an individual receives cattle, the first female calf that that comes along is given to another family."

Moore said he looks forward to resuming his involvement with Heifer International once he and his wife, Grace, settle down in their new Frankfort home.

"In the back of my mind, I'm hoping to meet with civic organizations and churches inside the community and outside the community to give presentations about the group," he said.

Find out more

For more information about Heifer International, go to www.heifer.org.
More about Hiefer International



Read more about Hiefer International at:

Heifer International

Heifer International -- World Headquarters
P.O. Box 8058, Little Rock, AR/USA 72203
Tel.: 501-907-2600, (800) 422-0474

Heifer International 2002 Annual Report

Heifer animals (and training in their care) offer hungry families around the world a way to feed themselves and become self-reliant. Children receive nutritious milk or eggs; families earn income for school, health care and better housing; communities go beyond meeting immediate needs to fulfilling dreams. Farmers learn sustainable, environmentally sound agricultural techniques.

Heifer Chosen as One of 100 Best

We're proud to share that Worth magazine selected Heifer as one of the 100 best charities in the US. Read More.

How Heifer Began

In the 1930s, a civil war raged in Spain. Dan West, a Midwestern farmer and Church of the Brethren youth worker, ladled out cups of milk to hungry children on both sides of the conflict. It struck him that what these families needed was "not a cup, but a cow." He asked his friends back home to donate heifers, a young cow that has not borne a calf, so hungry families could feed themselves. In return, they could help another family become self-reliant by passing on to them one of their gift animal’s female calves.

The idea of giving families a source of food rather than short-term relief caught on and has continued for more than 50 years. As a result, families in 115 countries have enjoyed better health, more income and the joy of helping others.

What does Heifer do and how do we do it?
Heifer International combats hunger, alleviates poverty, and restores the environment by providing appropriate livestock, training, and related services to small-scale farmers worldwide. Heifer helps people utilize livestock as an integral component of sustainable agriculture and holistic development. Heifer's projects strengthen rural families and communities through improved nourishment, increased production and the dissemination of skills and knowledge for self-reliance. Care for the earth's natural resources is emphasized through training in livestock management, pasture improvement, soil conservation, forestation and water harvesting.

Heifer'skey concept is that each recipient must pass on to others some of the offspring of the farm animals they receive. This principle, called "passing on the gift," assures that each participant in the program becomes a donor, enhancing dignity and participation in each project. Passing on the gift also helps communities to become self-sustaining.

Projects are selected on the basis of meeting Heifer's twelve "Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development." The International Programs Department staff provides services to Heifer's program personnel and partner organizations for monitoring and evaluation of all programs. Heifer has field offices in major program areas around the world that in turn work with a large network of local nongovernmental and grassroots organizations. Most of the field staff are nationals of the country and have a variety of technical skills that help project participants to confront the challenges and problems they encounter.

Heifer Cornerstones for Just & Sustainable Development

Passing on the Gift
Passing on the Gift embodies Heifer's philosophy of practical sharing and caring. Every family who receives an animal signs a contract to pass on the first female offspring to another family in need, and also agrees to pass on to others the training and skills that they have acquired. Many groups also choose to "pass back" an additional animal, or else a portion of sales income, to support their project.

Accountability
Groups define their own needs, set goals, and plan appropriate strategies to achieve them. Heifer provides guidelines for planning the project (including the pass-on process), screening recipients, monitoring farmers' progress and conducting self-evaluations. Groups are responsible for submitting semi-annual monitoring reports to Heifer.

Sharing and Caring
Heifer believes that global problems can be solved if all people are committed to sharing what they have and caring about others. Though not easily measurable, this is one of our most important cornerstones. Sharing and caring also reflect our commitment to humane treatment of the animals in Heifer projects and our shared vision of justice for all people.

Sustainability and Self-reliance
Because Heifer funds projects for a limited time, project groups must plan to support themselves eventually. Heifer has found that self-reliance is most easily achieved when a group has varied activities and generates support from several sources.

Improved Animal Management
Feed, water, shelter, reproductive efficiency, and health care are the essential ingredients in successful livestock management. These must be available so that the livestock provided by Heifer can be kept healthy and productive. The animals should be a vital part of the farm activities without causing an extra burden on family members or the farm resources in general. The species and breed chosen must be appropriate for the area.

Nutrition and Income
Livestock contribute to human nutrition and well-being in two ways. Directly, they provide high quality protein and fiber and, indirectly, draft power for crops and transportation as well as manure for soil fertility. The livestock should have potential for profitability to provide income for education, health care, housing, and all emergencies. As living savings accounts, livestock also provide long-term economic security.

Gender and Family Focus
Gender refers to the socially-defined roles of men and women in each culture. Heifer's gender program encourages women and men to share in decision-making, ownership of the Heifer animals, labor, and the benefits of projects. Priority for funding is given to projects in which the whole family participates. On-farm employment strengthens rural families and communities by decreasing the need for migration to urban areas in search of employment. In addition to the gender program, Heifer's WiLD (Women in Livestock Development) program supports women's projects.

Genuine Need and Justice
Heifer is a partner to people who truly need an opportunity to improve the quality of their lives, and who can benefit from modest support. Group members develop their own criteria to determine who will receive animals and related inputs. The poorest in the community should be included in the group membership and receive priority for assistance. Families are eligible regardless of creed or ethnic heritage. Priority is given to groups that have traditionally been neglected.

Improving the Environment
The introduction of Heifer livestock should improve the environment by having a positive impact on one or more of the following: soil erosion, soil fertility, sanitation, forestation, biodiversity, pollution, wildlife, and watershed conditions. In addition, the livestock should not cause or worsen any environmental problems.

Full Participation
Heifer works with grassroots groups or intermediary organizations representing grassroots groups. A truly effective group has strong leadership and organization and is committed to involving all members in decision-making. Members of the group "own" the project, and the groups have control over all key decisions.

Training and Education
Groups decide their own training needs and local people are involved as trainers. Training includes formal sessions as well as informal (farm visits, demonstrations, model or promoter farmers) and is "hands-on" more than academic. In addition to training in livestock husbandry and care of the environment, groups have requested training in diverse topics such as food processing, marketing, group formation and human nutrition.

Spirituality
Spirituality is common to all people and groups, regardless of their religion or beliefs. Spirituality is expressed in values, beliefs about the value and meaning of life, a sense of connectedness to the earth, and a shared vision of the future. It often creates a strong bond among group members and gives them faith, hope and a sense of responsibility to work together for a better future.

Heifer International has developed a set of essential principles called the Heifer Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development. All organizations and farmer groups are screened, monitored and evaluated according to these principles, and project plans made by the groups take these factors into consideration.

The 12 factors form the acronym Passing on the Gifts

P assing on the Gift
A ccountability
S haring and Caring
S ustainability and Self-reliance
I mproved Animal Management
N utrition and Income
G ender and Family Focus

on the

G enuine Need and Justice
I mproving the Environment
F ull Participation
T raining and Education
S pirituality

Heifer International has helped more than 4 million impoverished families throughout the world become more self-reliant through the gift of livestock and training in their care.

A non-profit organization rooted in the Christian tradition, Heifer joins with people of faith everywhere to work for the dignity and well-being of all people.

In 1994, Heifer celebrated its 50th anniversary and commemorated its first shipment of animals - 18 heifers sent to struggling families in Puerto Rico, where malnourished children had never tasted cow's milk.

Today, families and communities in approximately 110 countries and 35 U.S. states are leading self-reliant lives as a result of Heifer's efforts.

Heifer provides more than 20 types of food- and income-producing animals, as well as intensive training in animal husbandry, ecologically-sound, sustainable farming and community development.

Heifer received the President's Award for Voluntary Action in 1986 and the Presidential End Hunger Award in 1990.

Heifer is a member of InterAction and of International Service Agencies (#0315).

For more information, call Heifer at 1-800-422-1311.

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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Ecuador; COS - Honduras; Awards; Hiefer International; USDA

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