Brethren Help Heifer Project Buy Cows for Poland
Church of the Brethren Newsline

Southwestern Poland in early July was hit by its worst flooding of this century – 4,020 square miles were swamped, completely flooding 47 towns or villages while partially flooding another 1,000. Fifty-four people were killed and 140,000 were forced out of their homes. Because several thousand head of livestock were also killed, there is a serious need of cattle. In response, Heifer Project International is in the process of shipping 1,000 Holsteins to the eastern European country. Because of the need, and because of the Church of the Brethren's long-time association with Poland, the General Board approved a $130,000 Emergency Disaster Fund allocation that will help fund the shipment.

The amount is symbolic, said Miller Davis, manager of Emergency Response/Service Ministries, as it is $100 for every Pole brought to the United States by the Church of the Brethren over the decades the denomination and the country had a joint agriculture/education exchange – farmers were brought to the United States to learn more effective farming methods while Americans were sent to Poland to teach. Davis said HPI is coordinating the delivery of the cows.

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