(Teaching) Charity Begins at Home

I’ve written previously about the effect the book Beatrice’s Goat has had on our life but this month’s APLS Carnival topic of favorite charities got me thinking about the book’s impact from a different angle.

Beatrice’s Goat tells the true story of how a goat from Heifer International changed the life of Beatrice Biira and her family. This little Ugandan girl dearly wanted to go to school but her family was unable to afford the cost. Thanks to the gift of the goat, they were able to save up enough money for Beatrice to attend school, where she excelled. She came to the United States to continue her schooling and has now begun graduate studies in international development. Her plan is to return to Uganda upon graduation so she can expand opportunities for others.

This book led us to donate to Heifer International, a nonprofit that works with communities to end hunger and poverty and to care for the earth, and also sparked multiple conversations with our children. We’ve talked about supporting charities before but this experience was different. Since they have been old enough to choose, one of their birthday presents has been the ability to select the recipient of a charitable donation. They usually pick the local PBS station, in part because they are big fans of The Biscuit Brothers.

But those donations were very tangible for them. The Biscuit Brothers perform regularly in our area. (They even sang “Happy Birthday” to one of our girls at a local concert when they saw her wearing an “I’m the Birthday Girl” button. Biscuit Brothers, if you read this, she is still talking about it more than two years later. Thank you!) And we often watch shows on PBS so that organization is a part of our life.The majority of our other donations have been local as well so they have met the people our donations have gone to or seen their programs.

Heifer International was different. The story of Beatrice and the subsequent donation we made to Heifer International helped them understand that there are people all over the world who need help. Even when things are fine here, somewhere somebody needs help. This experience also showed them that what we do here, in our home, can make a difference.

There are many who can use a helping hand right now. How will you make a difference today?

This is my entry to the Affluent Persons Living Sustainably or APLS Carnival. March’s topic is charity. The selected entries will be hosted by Green Resolutions on March 20 so be sure to visit and learn about some worthy charities. You can learn more about this and future carnivals at APLS.