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The 75th anniversary of Heifer International was celebrated Oct. 5, in Casta\u00f1er, P.R., hosted by Puerto Rico District of the Church of the Brethren, the Casta\u00f1er congregation, and Casta\u00f1er Hospital. (For photos of the celebration and other views of Puerto Rico go to<\/em>\u00a0www.bluemelon.com\/ Puerto Rico was the destination of the very first shipment of animals made by the Church of the Brethren\u2019s Heifer Project in 1944. The 17 heifers–female cows pregnant with their first calf–left Mobile, Ala., on June 7 and arrived in San Juan, P.R., on July 22, 1944. Of the 17 cows, 16 survived the voyage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heifer was the brainchild of Church of the Brethren denominational staff member Dan West, who came up with the idea of \u201cpassing on the gift\u201d of farm animals to people affected by war and poverty. Structure for the project was put in place by the Brethren Service Committee during World War II, with animals raised or donated by Brethren farmers, congregations, school groups, and others. The success in Puerto Rico emboldened church leaders to begin a large effort to ship animals to war-torn Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In subsequent decades, Heifer International became an independent nonprofit. Over 75 years of work around the world it has helped bring more than 34 million families out of poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A significant occasion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Oct. 5, 2019, is a \u201cday in the history of Puerto Rico,\u201d said Roberto Pag\u00e1n, mayor of the Lares municipality in which Casta\u00f1er Hospital and Casta\u00f1er Church of the Brethren are located. \u201cWe felicitate and congratulate everyone who took their time and planted so that others could harvest…. It\u2019s like a relay race, you pass the baton and continue on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPuerto Rico will always loom large in Heifer Project\u2019s history and legacy,\u201d said Peggy Reiff Miller, who attended the celebration as a leading Heifer historian. She said the anniversary connects Heifer to the work of Civilian Public Service (CPS) on the island and to the development of Casta\u00f1er Hospital and the founding of the first Church of the Brethren congregation in Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CPS\u2019s \u201cMartin G. Brumbaugh Reconstruction Unit\u201d in Puerto Rico started a subunit in Casta\u00f1er as a place where conscientious objectors could do alternative service during and after World War II. Reiff Miller said the subunit was placed in Casta\u00f1er because of the dire need for medical services in that mountainous area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first Heifer animals arrived in Casta\u00f1er in 1945, a herd of six heifers and one bull. The herd was looked after by members of the CPS unit and provided fresh milk both for the unit and for the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the next 15 years Heifer Project made 24 shipments of animals to Puerto Rico including cattle, goats, poultry, pigs, and rabbits, Reiff Miller said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A distinguished gathering<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Along with Mayor Pag\u00e1n, the anniversary celebration gathered leaders from Heifer International, Casta\u00f1er Hospital, and the Church of the Brethren in Puerto Rico and the mainland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heifer International vice president Jes\u00fas Pizarro attended with members of his family. He currently works out of Little Rock, Ark., but is originally from Puerto Rico. Heifer also sent a photographer and a videographer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Casta\u00f1er Hospital was represented by executive director Domingo Monroig, others on the administrative staff, and board members including chair Eduardo Ortiz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Puerto Rico District was represented by, among many others, executive minister Jos\u00e9 Calleja Otero who also pastors the Vega Baja congregation; Casta\u00f1er pastor Jaime D\u00edaz; disaster coordinator Jos\u00e9 Acevedo; members of the district board; and the celebration planning committee. A majority of pastors from the district\u2019s seven congregations were present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Representing the Church of the Brethren staff were general secretary David Steele, Global Mission and Service executive director Jay Wittmeyer and associate executive Roy Winter, and News Services director Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford. Wittmeyer sits on the board of Heifer International. Global Mission and Service helped provide funding for the celebration. Also attending were Brethren Disaster Ministries staff and volunteers who are being hosted in Casta\u00f1er to do rebuilding work following Hurricane Maria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The planning committee included Acevedo, who served as committee chair; Monroig; Otero; D\u00edaz; and Arecibo Church of the Brethren pastor Lorens Crespo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A full day of celebration<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Events began in mid-morning as participants gathered at Casta\u00f1er Church of the Brethren and then toured the adjacent Casta\u00f1er Hospital. Luncheons were held at the hospital and at the church. A historical marker was dedicated at the site where heifers were first received in Casta\u00f1er, at the old location of the hospital. An afternoon ceremony in the town plaza was open to the whole community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speeches were given and official resolutions were read, including a resolution by the Puerto Rican Senate recognizing Heifer International and its history on the island, a proclamation by the Mayor of Lares, and felicitations to Heifer International from Puerto Rico District read by pastor Lillian Reyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wittmeyer spoke on behalf of the Church of the Brethren denomination, noting Puerto Rico\u2019s part in \u201cgiving birth to one of the most respected and efficient organizations in the world today, Heifer International…. Let us continue to work hard together until no child is sick or hungry or suffering, and we say this to the glory of God and our neighbor\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Steele presented a special gift to Casta\u00f1er Hospital of $100,000 from the estate of the late Chester and Virginia Poister of Hemet, Calif. The Poisters, who were Church of the Brethren members, had dedicated this sum out of the proceeds of the sale of their citrus ranch in the Pomona Valley to help the hospital\u2019s mission to serve the community. Virginia Poister\u2019s sister, Maxine Alice Dull, was trustee for their estate until her death. The Church of the Brethren denomination was entrusted with transferring the gift to the hospital.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCommunity is so important in the church,\u201d said Steele, noting that the hospital \u201cis a place where community comes together. This is an example of a community loving one another and taking care of each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Monroig responded for the hospital, saying, \u201cWe hope that in the future Casta\u00f1er Hospital will be more effective for the community. Thank you for being with us in this important day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gift of a young calf, brought by a local family, was a highlight. Steele and Pizarro jointly handed the calf to recipient Erick Yadiel Rivera in recognition that Heifer\u2019s motto, \u201cpassing on the gift,\u201d continues to benefit Casta\u00f1er. Rivera is studying agriculture at Casta\u00f1er High School and is a candidate for graduation this year. A release from the planning committee described him as a \u201chumble youth with Christian principles.\u201d His family is among those who have received aid from Brethren Disaster Ministries to repair their home following Hurricane Maria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Music by the group Brazos de Oro rounded out the afternoon, including an original song written for the occasion. Cake was served as people stayed in the plaza to enjoy music and conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gift continues<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am very proud as a Puerto Rican that the first project was here in Puerto Rico,\u201d said Pizarro. Heifer International includes and serves people from many different religions, \u201cbut we share with the Church of the Brethren the sense of empathy…the sense of social justice,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is the identity we share with the Church of the Brethren and the Casta\u00f1er church.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cToday is a very special day for me,\u201d said Elizabeth Cruz, one of those who spoke at the dedication of the historical marker. She is a nurse and serves as secretary of the hospital board. As a child she remembers being sent by her grandmother to the hospital with empty bottles to be filled with fresh milk for herself and her family. Even as a young girl she saw what the hospital was doing for people and decided to become a nurse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cruz and others emphasized the importance of Heifer for Casta\u00f1er and Puerto Rico, and the need for younger generations to be taught this history. She hopes the anniversary celebration will encourage participants \u201cto have at the bottom of your heart this special recognition, that our kids and grandkids remember.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n —\u00a0Peggy Reiff Miller contributed to this report. Read her blogpost about the celebration at\u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/seagoingcowboysblog.wordpress.com\/2019\/10\/11\/ By Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, with contributions from Peggy Reiff Miller The 75th anniversary of Heifer International was celebrated Oct. 5, in Casta\u00f1er, P.R., hosted by Puerto Rico District of the Church of the Brethren, the Casta\u00f1er congregation, and Casta\u00f1er Hospital. (For photos of the celebration and other views of Puerto Rico go to\u00a0www.bluemelon.com\/churchofthebrethren\/puertoricohostsheifers75thanniversary\u00a0.) Puerto Rico was<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":14482,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[456,234,1511,1262,1261,14,1606],"wf_post_folders":[],"class_list":["post-14481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-brethren-disaster-ministries","tag-castaner-church-of-the-brethren","tag-districts","tag-ecunemical","tag-general-secretary","tag-puerto-rico","tag-puerto-rico-district"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14481"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14489,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14481\/revisions\/14489"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14481"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=14481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
churchofthebrethren\/
puertoricohostsheifers
75thanniversary<\/a>\u00a0.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/a-historical-marker-is-dedicated.gif\")
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celebrating-heifer-internationals-75th-anniversary-in-castaner-puerto-rico<\/a>\u00a0.\u00a0For photos of the celebration and other views of Puerto Rico go to<\/em>www.bluemelon.com\/churchofthebrethren\/
puertoricohostsheifers75thanniversary<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/06\/gift-of-a-young-bull-calf.gif\")