Castañer, Puerto Rico: The birthplace of Heifer International

The summer of 2014 was the 70th anniversary of the non-governmental organization Heifer International, in which I have had the honor to work for the last seven years, and which I am proud to say had its first project in Puerto Rico in the summer of 1944.

Heifer International was the answer to the poverty caused by the Spanish Civil War and World War II. It's imperative to get to know Dan West to understand the purpose of the creation of Heifer International. He was a conscientious objector during the First World War, which is why he swore he'd work as much for peace, as a soldier works for war.

His crusade for peace led him to Spain, in 1938, to do humanitarian work to fight hunger with The Church of the Brethren, which in Puerto Rico is known as the Church of Los Hermanos. In Spain, Dan West distributed powdered milk and water to the impoverished and starving families who'd emerged as a result of the Spanish civil war. Upon his return from that mission, and as a lesson learned, he understood that the mission would be more effective if instead of a cup of milk they gave a cow to the families in need. Hence the phrase "Not a cup but a cow©."

Dan West managed to persuade church leaders and several cattlemen in the United States to donate them cows for that purpose. But these cows wouldn't be able to reach Spain, because by that time (1944) Nazi submarines were threatening the entire Atlantic Ocean, due to World War II.

Meanwhile, in Puerto Rico, the Castañer community in collaboration with the government and the Church of the Brethren found themselves developing a community project that consisted of building houses, a hospital, a church, recreational facilities and agricultural projects. Dan West and the members of the Church of the Brethren decided to start Heifer's first project in Puerto Rico. On July 13th, 1944, he departed from Mobile Port, Alabama and arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico on July 22nd, 1944, with 17 Heifer cows. After the corresponding formalities, the cows began to arrive at the Castañer community in Puerto Rico. This historic milestone marks the birth of Heifer's first project and thus the birth of an organization that has supported millions of people in dozens of countries to overcome poverty. That is why, in my opinion, Castañer is the birthplace of Heifer International.

After that first project, Heifer's projects began to spread throughout the world. The growth of Heifer was possible because of the end of World War II, Dan West's leadership, the voluntary work of hundreds of conscientious objectors (including the Seagoing Cowboys), the United Nations and the support of thousands of donors from the United States throughout these 70 years.

Heifer International's development model is unique because every gift, whether it's an animal, bird, seed or technical assistance is given on the condition that an equivalent gift will be given to another family in need. This is known as passing on the gift ©. This model is inspired by the Chinese proverb "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."

Pierre Ferrari, Heifer International's CEO, visited the Castañer community on January 15th, 2014, and there he learned from the experienced volunteers who'd forged the Castañer community 70 years ago. Some of these were Elsa Grof, volunteer, and retired nurse from Castañer Hospital, Donal Kauffman (volunteer, conscientious objector, university professor, writer) and the leaders of Castañer Hospital. The lessons learned that Pierre shares are summarized, from the public administration perspective, as follows:

1. The community needs to take over the project. For example, Castañer Hospital's board of directors is elected by members of the community. The community must design the solutions to the problem.

2. Government and NGO support is a critical factor for the success of development projects.

3. Contribution from voluntary work is invaluable and has an extraordinary impact on the community.

As a Puerto Rican, I am very proud to work for Heifer International because I am passing on a gift that Heifer gave to Puerto Rico 70 years ago, and get to help build world peace by combating poverty through agricultural projects. I invite you to visit www.heifer.org (and other references) to learn more stories and support the Heifer International peace mission.

References and additional information:

This is a translation from Spanish, that was published on July 27, 2014. I also made some modification from the original. This is the link to the original in my personal blog http://pizarrojesus.com/2014/07/

Hostetler, Wayne (September 30, 1944). Brethren Heifers to Puerto Rico. Retrieved on January 15, 2014, from https://seagoingcowboyswebsite.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/brethren_heifers_to_puerto_rico.pdf

Centro Vinculación Comunitaria (March 15, 2013). Documental: Castañer, Hospital del Pueblo. Retrieved on January 12, 2014, from

Ferrari, Pierre (February 7, 2014). A Visit to Heifer’s Past. Worldark Blog. Retrieved on February 27, 2014, from http://www.heifer.org/join-the-conversation/blog/2014/February/a-visit-to-heifers-past.html