Interviews
An Interview with Give a Goat's Author Jan West SchrockJan West Schrock is the daughter of Heifer International founder Dan West. She is a senior advisor for Heifer and often spends time visiting schools, leading study tours and expanding Heifer's educational work. We asked Jan a series of questions about Heifer, her dad and what inspires her to keep up her work with Heifer International.This is what she said: Hunger and poverty kills more than six million children every year. Just knowing this instills a feeling of helpless and leads to denial. We need to educate our children and give them a way to make a difference. Children love to help. I believe children have a natural philanthropic spirit that will be tapped if we, as educators, do our job in creating educated and active world citizens.When did you first realize what your father had in mind with Heifer International? I was one year old in 1937 when my father went to Spain to deliver used clothing and powdered milk to the victims of the Spanish Civil War. He saw starving children, helpless and desperate women and old men. Most of the young men had been killed, barns burned, cattle slaughtered. The powdered milk provided relief, but not the long-lasting solution they needed. He knew there were plenty of cows in Northern Indiana, where we lived. Once he returned home, he shared the horrible story of Spain and asked farmers to give a heifer, a young cow pregnant with her first calf, to ship to Spain. The recipients would pass on their first heifer to another family, and they in turn, to another; passing on the gifts they received. The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency provided the shipping. This is how "Not a Cup, But a Cow" began. We kept some young heifers in our barn before they were shipped. They had special tags on their ears. I knew they would travel across the ocean to feed children like myself. As a little girl, I honestly thought every barn had heifers to give to hungry families. My dad's efforts were part of a big movement to help rebuild Europe following WWII. It seemed like everyone I knew was trying to find a way to help.Do you have a story to share about your dad and Heifer in the early days? When my father returned from Spain in 1938, he brought gifts in a black box for my mother, my older brother, and myself. A mantilla for mother and two Spanish dolls for my brother and me. We were so happy. Then he said, "I have another gift." We looked in the box and saw it was empty. He said, with a gleam in his eye, "This gift is an idea!" I heard my mother tell this story when I was older. As Heifer International grew and many people became aware of the hunger and poverty that war brings, my father vowed to never eat cake unless the poor had bread. He kept this promise for the remainder of his life.When did you get involved? I have been involved with Heifer's work in many ways for many years. When I was nine years old, we went to Dayton, Ohio, where heifers were being loaded onto an airplane. It was a rainy day for this dedication attended by many people and the press. The cows, however, refused to climb the steep gangplank from the ground up into the hold of the airplane. Several farmers did whatever they could to get them to climb the steep slope. They hollered in their ears and slapped their backs. Finally, a preacher twisted the first cow's tail. With this, she hopped right up, moving quickly and the others followed her. We were all very happy! I have been a teacher for many years and during this time, I often participated in Heifer's work as a volunteer. I attended celebrations and conferences. Often, I have been called on to share Heifer's history and my father's legacy as peacemaker. In 1999, I joined the Heifer staff as Coordinator of Community Relations and moved to Little Rock. In 2002, I moved to Maine to be near my children and grandchildren. Here I continued to work for Heifer as Senior Advisor. During these years, I have led study tours to China, Ecuador, Peru, and Poland. I have participated in tours to India and Guatemala. I have not seen Heifer's work in Africa yet, but hope to do this soon. Africa has enormous need and Heifer is playing a major role in helping families, children, and many orphans.There must be more wonderful stories surrounding Heifer than you could possibly share, but is there one favorite Heifer story? Maybe one from the gift-giver and one from the gift-receiver? A Young Gift-Giver: At his birthday party John David Cobb, six years old, raised funds to give one llama, two goats, two flocks of chickens, two flocks of ducks, a flock of geese, and a trio of rabbits. He did this by inviting 25 friends to Jumpity Jump, an indoor playground filled with huge inflatable toys and asking for donations to Heifer International instead of gifts.Gift-Receivers Giving, Too: Women who received goats and water buffalo in Nepal decided to save out a handful of rice in a special sack whenever they cooked for their family. The women then collected these sacks of rice during a pass-on ceremony. They sold the rice and used the funds to send their young girls to school, at a cost of $50 per student per year. Not only did the women pass on the offspring of the water buffalo and goats, but they passed on the gift of education for their daughters.This story was shared during a visit to Nepal by the Northeast Regional Director, Wendy Peskin.
