Have you ever heard of "paying it forward"?
It's the principle that led to over 10,000 coffees being bought for random strangers at Tim Hortons in 2013.
And literally saved this Ontario man's life in 2017.
When one individual is the recipient of a genuinely altruistic act of kindness, it can trigger a cascade of other (and even more elaborate) acts of kindness.
The person in line in front of you pays for your coffee, so you pay for the person behind you. You just paid it forward.
You wake up on a snowy morning to discover that your neighbour shovelled your driveway, so you carry the groceries for a pregnant mom at the store. You just paid it forward.
You buy a pair of pigs for a family in Rwanda. When their sow gives birth to her first litter of piglets, they give at least one offspring to another family in need. You just triggered someone to pay it forward.
This cascade of kindness happens frequently in FH communities in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. It's part of the very fabric of FH's livestock programs. Whenever a person receives an animal from FH, they commit to paying it forward to the next person in line. The result? Your gifts are passed on again and again.
This cascade of kindness happens frequently in FH communities in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. It's part of the very fabric of FH's livestock programs. Whenever a person receives an animal from FH, they commit to paying it forward to the next person in line. The result? Your gifts are passed on again and again.
In Haiti last year, 35 families received goats from other Haitian families paying it forward. In Rwanda, 100 goats and 150 pigs were given out. You can be sure when those animals begin to produce offspring, the number of families impacted will double.
In Uganda, the dairy cow project thrives on the pay it forward principle. Last year, new heifers were given to 35 farmer groups; each group represents five families. There are now a total of 165 farmer groups in the community - all anticipate giving the new calves to be born to the next group member in line.
To do the math, that means 825 families will be impacted because the first recipients of kindness paid it forward to others.
Dairy cow households use cow manure to fertilize their gardens, which in turn produce fruit and vegetables that significantly improve child nutrition. Families sell milk and other dairy products to meet the basic needs of their children, construct permanent houses, and start small businesses.
That's a lot of impact from paying it forward.
To do the math, that means 825 families will be impacted because the first recipients of kindness paid it forward to others.
Dairy cow households use cow manure to fertilize their gardens, which in turn produce fruit and vegetables that significantly improve child nutrition. Families sell milk and other dairy products to meet the basic needs of their children, construct permanent houses, and start small businesses.
That's a lot of impact from paying it forward.
In Canada, we're known for our generosity - to each other and to the world. And that generosity comes back home to benefit us, too, as those we've helped pay it forward. At Food for the Hungry, we get to see this happen all the time. So on behalf of our communities, we want to say thank you for paying it forward.
COMMENTS