Last year, we adopted the Christmas tradition of having the children give something to charity. At the suggestion of a friend, we chose Heifer.org, a wonderfully cool organization that gives poor people living animals and teaches them how to use them, so that they can make a living from them — rather than just giving them some meat. 

The moment we saw the catalog where you get to pick a cow or a sheep or some chicks, we were enchanted. But I really fell in love with Heifer.org this fall when I read the words of one of the women they had helped. She said that one of Heifer International’s 12 platforms had to do with gender equality. After learning from then, this woman reported she realized that men and women are of equal worth — so she started feeding her daughters the same good food she fed her sons.

This woman so believed that women were inferior that she had been feeding her daughters sub-standard diets, below the starvation diet her sons ate!  And Heifer International turned that around…wow!

So, this year, we gathered before the computer for each child to pick his choice of gift. Juss had been planning to pick a pig, but then he found out that pigs were just good for eating. So, he decided to pick something else, something more unusual.

Juss: “I want to get a vampire bat.”
Mommy” “What?”
Juss, shouting, “But vampire bats are good!”

Needless to say, Heifer.org does not offer vampire bats. Juss settled for honeybees, as they would not be eaten. 
Orville picked a water buffalo (same as his choice last year.) Ro picked a trio of rabbits. 

We all went away happy that some family somewhere would have their fortunes increased by the animals we had chosen.

Heifer International