Central and Eastern Europe

Transforming Families in the Ukraine

Transforming Families in the Ukraine
A little over a year ago, Heifer donors like you generously supported our partnership with Danone Ecosystem to begin the 2nd phase of the Milk Communities Project. Work is underway in rural communities like Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Hardworking farmers, like Pavlo Riabko received his heifer with his grandson, Maksym. "We received a cow absolutely for free! This is an unbelievable present," says Pavlo.
Learn more about what your donation to our international charity means to this small village

Glara's Dream Comes True in Armenia

Glara's Dream Comes TrueGlara's Dream Comes True
"Granny" Glara Saroyan, 60, was born and raised in Armenia. After an earthquake in 1988 left her home and livestock totally destroyed, Glara and her family found themselves living in a small wooden shelter, with limited resources. All of this changed when she received the gift of a pig from Heifer, helping her realize her dream of rebuilding the family farm.
Learn more about how your charitable contributions can help fight world hunger

Susanna's Happiness in Armenia

Susanna's Happiness in Armenia
Heifer Armenia started its Peace to Our Homes Regional Cooperation Umbrella Project in Getap in 2002. Since then, the Heifer Armenia project participants have accomplished several subsequent Passing on the Gifts, thus increasing the number of families involved in Heifer projects in Armenia.
Read more about Susanna and how you can help other families in Armenia fight hunger

A Gift of Hope in Georgia

A Gift of Hope in Georgia
Nugzar Sharvashidze has lived nearly half a century. Buknari, his village sits on the Black Sea, just 40 miles from Turkey. When Georgia was a part of the Soviet Union, Buknari was a beautiful resort town, a place where the Russian elite would come for vacation. Tourism was the mainstay of the town and it was profitable, providing wealth enough for its residents. But when the Soviet Union fell, so did Buknari's place as a resort. The people of this seaside town had to find another way to make a living, so they turned back to their traditional citrus crops.
Learn more about how a charitable gift of a heifer is giving Nugzar hope

Better Life in Kosovo Starts with a Cow and a Greenhouse

Better Life in Kosovo Starts with a Cow and a Greenhouse
The road to Mevlude Bërbatovci's house, just outside of the village of Nakaradë-Fushë in Kosovo, was once a difficult and muddy path, but now it is stable with rocks and sand that Mevlude spread herself. This road describes Melvude—a hard working woman full of ambition and energy, ready to overcome any obstacle.
Learn more about Melvude’s story and the impact a heifer can make in helping the hungry

Armenian Family's Dream is Filled with a Heifer Cow and New Home

Armenian Family's Dream
Debed, a village set deep in mountain passes of the Lori region of Armenia, is a place as beautiful as it is harsh. The winters here are long, running from September to May, and the roads are all but closed during much of that time. The difficult lives of families in Debed are beginning to improve through a partnership between Heifer Armenia and the Fuller Center for Housing Armenia. One of the families who have experienced tangible change and improvement of their livelihood is the Petrosyan family.
Learn more about how Heifer partnered with another international charity to help Debed become self-reliant

Heifer Makes Girl's Best Day in Georgia


Heifer makes girl's 'best day'Georgia: Heifer makes girl's "best day"
Tamta Gogoladze, an 8-year-old girl, lives in the village of Khashmi, the Kakheti region of Georgia. She shares the house with her father and mother, a 90-year-old grandmother and two adult brothers. The main activity of the family is selling piglets, but they provide just enough money for buying medication for their aged grandmother and covering utilities expenses, and minimal needs of the family's daily life. In spite of the diligent work and joint efforts of the family, purchasing a cow, a long time dream, seemed unfulfilled and impossible to realize. But with the gift of a heifer the situation of the family has radically changed. They maintain a stable high-calorie diet.
Learn more about how the gift of livestock can end hunger and poverty around the world

New Opportunities for the Kosyukova Family in Ukraine


Learn how Heifer's Training and Education Cornerstone impacted the Kosyukova familyUkraine: New Opportunities for the Kosyukova Family
When a new Heifer Ukraine project came to the village of Nova Orzhytsia, Lyudmila Kosyukova's family did not participate in it from the start. Once the family joined and learned about Heifer's Training and Education Cornerstone, they were inspired to invest the savings they built from selling excess milk to have a greater impact on sustainability and self reliance of not only their family, but the community in general.
Learn how the Kosyukovas turned a gift animal to an opportunity for education and sustainability