World Ark Magazine - November/December 2007 - (Page 54)

HEIFER BULLETIN|NEWS FROM THE FIELD Children’s Brigade Fights Poultry Disease By Ray White | HEIFER PUBLIC INFORMATION DIRECTOR R aising poultry in Mozambique is fraught with difficulty, not the least of which is Newcastle disease, an epidemic that kills as much as 70 percent of all chickens there every year. But today, 30 percent more chickens A young girl in Mozambique cuddles a healthy chick that has been vaccinated against Newcastle disease. are reaching the market in two areas in Mozambique after Heifer mobilized school children to vaccinate for the deadly disease. “Newcastle has long been a problem across sub -Saharan Africa,” said Geneti Debia, Heifer’s program officer for the region. In poor regions where sources of protein are scarce, the common but dangerous practice has been to eat a chicken that dies suddenly rather than let it go to waste. In addition to consuming dead birds, farmers may slaughter their entire flocks while they’re still healthy if they sense the onset of an epidemic, Debia explained. As a result, farmers have to start over rebuilding their flocks at the end of the epidemic cycle, and in the meantime, they have no eggs or chickens to eat. Unfortunately, infrastructure to deliver the Newcastle vaccine to the small flocks of poultry owned by subsistence farmers has long been lacking. Heifer and partnering organizations are helping to solve the problem by enlisting the help of several schools and trained young people to administer the vaccinations using a dropper to place a drop of serum in the birds’ eyes. Heifer footed the bill and allowed the children to keep any money the farmers might give them for performing the vaccination service. “The hardest part of the whole process is catching the chickens,” Debia said, “and the children proved to be very good at it.” Early results indicate the vaccination program is very successful and will be replicated in Heifer’s work in Malawi. If the strategy proves successful there, it could be expanded throughout the subSaharan region. A Mother-Daughter Duo Lead Charge for Change By Kendra R. Johnson | WORLD ARK CONTRIBUTOR n a Himalayan village in Nepal, a quiet transformation is taking place in the lives of women and young girls. It is a revolution that began without guns, only stones—Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development, to be precise—some livestock and training in animal welfare. This powerful revolution is knocking down social barriers in the country, I creating gender equity, challenging the caste system and sowing seeds of cooperation. Sushila Bural, a teenager in the Gaun Sahar Village, is a forerunner in this revolution. She was recruited four years ago when her mother Sobhita Bural received two goats after joining a women’s group working with Heifer. The group is now on to its third generation of pass-ons, and the next generation of the Bural family is now passing on knowledge of the Cornerstones to another group of adolescents. “My favorite Cornerstone is ‘Selfreliance and Sustainability’ because I know now that we should consider the long-term impact in everything we do,” Sobhita Bural said. From her start with just two goats and a small (Continued on page 55) www.heifer.org 54 November/December 2007 | WORLD ARK http://www.heifer.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Ark Magazine - November/December 2007

World Ark - November/December 2007 Contents Letters For the Record The Good Life Asked & Answered Pursuing Happiness (PRODUCT) RED: Consumer Power Fights AIDS in Africa Rwanda Reconciles End Hunger Now Protecting the Poor from Climate Change Mixed Media Heifer Bulletin Heifer Spirit Heifer Calendar Reflection

World Ark Magazine - November/December 2007

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