So... I Bought a Llama

   Yes, I actually bought a llama.

   While going through my family’s daily dose of L.L. Bean, J. Crew and Pottery Barn catalogs during last year’s holiday season, I found a smaller catalog, with a sheep on the cover that immediately caught my attention.  Upon seeing the Heifer International logo on the bottom of the cover, I began to recall the church announcements I often heard around the holiday season, regarding Heifer International and how you can literally buy a cow for somebody in another country for only a small sum of money.  Curious, I flipped through the catalog to see what the options were, and finally saw a llama – a gift surprisingly fun and affordable, with its price of $150.

   Based in Little Rock, Arkansas, Heifer International is a global nonprofit organization that works to eradicate hunger and poverty worldwide.  As a way to meet the needs of families and individuals in over the forty countries impacted so far, Heifer International offers a wide variety of donation options, ranging from sending a girl to school, to starting a business, to buying goats.  In operation since 1944, Heifer International has helped over 18 million families around the globe restart their lives, and build a sense of hope within each of the communities affected.

While I still have yet to watch the movie,
I have heard it is just as intellectually fulfilling
and eye-opening as the book.

   As I was reading Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s novel, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, at the time, I was inspired by the novel’s stories of the attempts women made to recreate lives for themselves in their oppressed circumstances.  Thus, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity Heifer International offered, and began to save up for my llama as my paychecks began to come in.

   I will admit that I was skeptical of Heifer International, at first, and felt uneasy as I began to save up my money.  Yet, after doing my research, I was able to find Heifer International mentioned in not only the foreign aid packets I received in my International Relations class, but also in smaller online newspapers, and the New York Times, with an article written by Kristof, himself!  With this reassurance, I gradually saved up all of my money, and finally made my purchase last December, in hopes that the recipient family would receive their llama before the New Year.

   While I sometimes wonder how the recipient family's llama is doing, wherever it is in the world, it still feels incredible to know that I was able to invest my money in something worthwhile.  Thus, if you’re ever feeling generous, or are just curious about Heifer International and its donation options, I highly recommend looking on Heifer International’s website.  Who knows, maybe you will want to buy something, too!

     Heifer International also allows you to make donations under somebody else’s name.  I know several people that have bought each other various animals for each other’s birthdays and holiday gifts, and they have all been very happy with their purchases.