Tuesday, December 19, 2006

I gave my great-aunt a water buffalo.

I have a great-aunt in her mid-90s. She is a cool lady and one of these days I'll write more about her, as she has been kind of a role model for me-- she never married, had a good career, traveled widely, and stays active with lots of activities at the assisted-living place that she moved into a couple of years ago when she finally couldn't live on her own any more.
But what do you get for the person who's been everywhere, done everything, and very cheerfully professes to need nothing? I decided to go with a charity gift, and chose Heifer International. You can select from a variety of animal gifts that help people around the world be more self-sufficient, and you can print out a fun card for the person on whose behalf you've made the donation:

I think a water buffalo makes a great gift. I may have to use my ad proceeds from this site to purchase another one.

8 comments:

Abigail B. said...

If you have any overseas readers (or US readers that prefer options), Oxfam do this and similar things as well. You can give toilets, or schoolbooks, etc. It is a great idea! I have read that you need to be a bit cautious, though, because sometimes the animals that are gifted end up in regions that aren't best suited to them. Probably best to research the organisation first :)

Anonymous said...

That's awesome.
Abigail (comment above): If they send it to India...you won't need to worry about the buffalo's discomfort..it will be almost worshiped there :)

Btw, I have always wondered by there are no water buffaloes in the warmer regions of US. At least the milk should be here; it tastes much better than cow milk.

Single Ma said...

You deserve the 'title of the month' award. LOL I was like, she did WHAT? Then come over here to find out what you did was totally awesome!

I love donating for a good cause - promoting self sufficiency is at the TOP of my list. But I prefer to keep my donations within our borders. Take care of home first...

Madame X said...

SingleMa-- Heifer does send animals to people in the US as well as other countries around the world. But the water buffaloes probably all go overseas!

Anonymous said...

I have been giving the gift of carbon neutrality, Oxfam, and purchasing minefields for people

fin_indie said...

I'm one of those people too -- have everything I need, well traveled, etc... and would love a water buffalo! That's a seriously great gift!

Single Ma said...

Why does the name Heifer make me laugh? LOL

Anonymous said...

Philip Greenspun and Robert Thompson give a real Water Buffalo to a real Family! This video brought me to tears: 4 Generations Movie The most emotional part is when the grandmother figures out that she has been picked at random to receive this gift and says it's too much. She turns and wipes the tears from her face because it would be disrespectful for her to cry in front of guests. Powerful movie.