Heifer International: Nineteenth Century Aphorism

Many are aware of the nineteenth century aphorism, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” It is with similar principle that an Ohio farmer, Dan West, founded Heifers for Relief in 1944. In 1938, while ladling out milk to starved child refugees of the Spanish Civil War, West thought to himself, “These children don’t need a cup, they need a cow.” Heifer International is a nonprofit organization set with the perseverance of eradicating poverty and hunger through education, giving, and communal improvement. Not only does Heifer distribute livestock to needy families worldwide, but the esteemed organization also provides training in husbandry, with the intention of promoting self-sufficiency.
Until the 1970s, Heifer was more specifically pointed towards war-torn regions, but since then, they have focused their efforts more towards developing nations. With Heifer International’s charitable model including the fundamental “Passing of the Gift,” many assumptions are made. The most obvious assumption is that families who are gifted with cattle will fulfill their promise, ergo “passing the gift.” “Fulfilling their promise” means eventually become donors themselves. This is the chief purpose (and assumption) of this organization: that those who receive help, later give help. Heifer International also employs separate canons when assisting those in need. These distinct principles are entitled the “Twelve Cornerstones of Just and Sustainable Development.” Each cornerstone is developed on a different principle, but are all part of the purpose of Heifer’s projects. These cornerstones range from “spirituality” (the ending of hopelessness) to “gender and family focus” (where women and men equally contribute in the project’s decision making). These cornerstones work through trust and assumptions, because Heifer cannot know exactly what happens once they
According to the neoliberal international relations perspective, interconnectedness between nations reduces the chances of war. Thus, United States based nonprofits intervening in foreign nations with aid should only create better relationships between these nations. With enough of these interactions, trust may be built between these nations and the United States, creating better sentiment towards the United States, and making its contemporary position in the world as a hegemon more widely