CAPE CHARLES, Va. — A hunger relief project initiated in 2009 by three children and their teacher in a mission education class at a small church on Virginia’s Eastern Shore has mushroomed into a multi-church endeavor which will provide thousands of dollars to help women in impoverished communities achieve their full potential.
Two years ago, a catalog from Heifer International landed in the mailbox of Annette Hall, a member of Lower Northampton Baptist Church in Cape Charles, Va. The hunger relief projects described in the catalog struck Hall as an ideal project for the Children in Action class she teaches. Children in Action is a Woman’s Missionary Union-sponsored co-ed mission education class for children in grades 1-6.
Annette Hall with (from left) Joey, Kayle and Jenna.
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For nearly 70 years, Heifer International, based in Little Rock, Ark., has made gifts of livestock, seeds and training to impoverished people around the world. Heifer refers to the livestock as “living loans,” because in exchange for the livestock and training, families agree to give one of their animal’s offspring to another family in need.
“These Heifer projects help feed people all across the world,” said Hall, who shared success stories from the catalog with the three children — Joey, age 7, and Jenna and Kayle, both age 6 — in her class. “The kids were hooked. They decided very quickly they wanted to do a project.”
After considering their choices, the children opted to buy chickens and rabbits. “They didn’t cost a lot and we thought it would not take too long to collect enough money to buy them,” said Hall.
Over the next few Sundays, between October and December 2009, Hall and her young students presented their project to the church, asking for donations. By January they had raised a respectable $581 — enough to buy five flocks of chickens and three trios of rabbits, with enough left over for two bee hives.
Hall thought that would be the end of the project. “I had one more success story in the book that I needed to read to them,” she said. “That would complete this project and we could move on to the next project.”
Lower Northampton Baptist Church in Cape Charles, Va.
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That story described Heifers’ WiLD — Women in Livestock Development — project. Heifer established the initiative in 1988 to help women care for themselves, their families, the earth and each other.
“Women and girls make up the vast majority of the people living in poverty around the world today,” notes the Heifer web site. “Yet they are often given the least opportunity to change their lives for the better. … Heifer International WiLD initiative helps women in impoverished communities achieve their full potential while strengthening partnerships between men and women.”
As Hall read the description in the catalog, the children asked how much it cost. The answer: $10,000.
“I almost choked,” said Hall. “I told them, that’s a lot of money. I must have said it five or six times, trying to make them understand how much $10,000 really was.”
But the children insisted — this was the new project they wanted. Hall was doubtful, until each of them repeated what they’d learned from a lesson she’d taught earlier that night — “Miss Annette, fear not, don’t be afraid. God will be with us.”
“They got it and I didn’t,” said Hall. “What could I say but OK?”
When she asked them how they’d raise the money, Jenna said, “We can ask other churches to help us.”
Hall took the advice and made an appeal at the next meeting of the Accomack-Northampton Baptist Association’s WMU. Attending that meeting was Edith Fisher, children’s education consultant for Woman’s Missionary Union of Virginia. Inspired by Hall’s passion, Fisher made Lower Northampton’s WiLD project the statewide children’s project for WMUV in 2010-2011.
Children in Action groups in churches across Virginia began contributing. WMUV’s Camp Crossroads made the project the recipient of its summer camp offering.
Success came toward the end of 2011, when Lower Northampton’s treasurer told Hall one Sunday morning prior to worship that the project was only $17.43 short of its $10,000. She grabbed the coffee can the children used to collect their contributions and stood before the congregation.
“I know there are more than 17 people here today,” she said. “So I know we’ll meet our goal today.”
It was then that pastor Jeff Conrow shared news Hall didn’t yet know: he had just received a $700 check from WMUV for the project.
“The kids and I just jumped up and down and squealed,” said Hall.
But the kids weren’t finished.
“They turned to me and wanted to know if we could buy more chickens and rabbits and other animals with the extra money,” she said. “I just had to laugh. I makes me so proud of them and I am humbled.”
She added: “I know this money will do much to help women and their families, but there is no amount of money that could begin to touch the love and joy and compassion that I have seen during this project.”