Beatrice Biira shares gifts and passion in new role with Heifer International

One of Heifer International’s “greatest success stories,” Beatrice Biira, begins a new chapter in her and in Heifer’s effort to engage more individuals in the campaign to end hunger and poverty.

Beatrice Biira, whose life was forever changed by the simple gift of a goat from Heifer International, as told in three videos produced by Dick Young Productions and in the best-selling children’s book, “Beatrice’s Goat,” by Page McBrier, is beginning a new chapter of her life—as a Community Engagement Officer for the hunger and poverty ending organization.

“Beatrice Biira is one of Heifer International’s greatest success stories,” said Pierre Ferrari, Heifer’s president and CEO. “Her path, from her village in Uganda to her graduation from Connecticut College and The Clinton School of Public Service, in Little Rock, Arkansas, and now back to Heifer International is, for us, a true homecoming.

“And though many of us who work here can recount the stories we have experienced in the field, few of us can tell them as Beatrice can, as one who lived it and now has the chance to give back, to help other girls fulfill dreams,” said Ferrari.

As a Community Engagement Officer, Biira will support events in New York City and the greater New York area to help increase awareness of Heifer International and its work and to engage and nurture volunteers and volunteer groups. She will also represent Heifer International at public and private events, and engage with major donors and other audiences of influence.

“I am so pleased by my new role with Heifer International,” said Biira. “My journey began with Mugisa (which means Luck in Lukonzo language), the goat my family received, but it was Heifer’s training that gave me the tools I needed to make my own way.  Moving from the village school in Kisinga village to Gayaza High School in Kampala helped fulfill my dreams.  Heifer friends supported me in every part of this journey.  My first experience in the U.S. was attending Northfield-Mt. Herman School for a transitional year.  It was so rewarding that after that educational experience I was admitted to many colleges in the U.S.”

In an interview with the CBS news show, “60 Minutes,” Biira once said her dream was to see herself helping others, “maybe a farm with cows or goats, and giving those children milk. And I'd love to see them get healthier, all by my work." Now, she says, “I can do that, I can live that dream.”

When Biira first learned about Heifer International, she was a young girl performing adult chores and responsibilities in her village of Kisinga. She had little to eat and little hope, but she yearned to go to school, to learn, but her family could not afford the school fees. And school, at the time, was largely exclusive to boys. 

Then, Heifer gave 12 goats to 12 families in Kisinga, and Biira’s family was fortunate to be among them. Soon, Biira’s mother was able to sell enough goats’ milk to send her to the local school.

From there, she won a scholarship to a high school in Kampala, Uganda's capital. Then, she went on to earn her Bachelor’s degree from Connecticut College, and her Master’s from the Clinton School.

Heifer supporters first met Beatrice at the 1998 Conference on World Hunger when Dick Young premiered “The Promise” and introduced “the little girl in the red dress.’  It was not long after the conference when she was asked by Simon and Schuster to do a book tour for “Beatrice’s Goat” and she visited 13 states and did 128 presentations in 40 days, including an interview with Charlie Gibson on “Good Morning America.” 

The last query from Gibson was “Beatrice, I understand you like pizza?”  “I do,” she replied, “but I like goat’s milk best.”  Her communication gifts are well known and in March 2011 she was a keynote speaker at the Harvard Social Enterprise Conference on Sustainability.

Prior to joining Heifer International, she worked with The Millennium Promise Alliance Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to ending extreme poverty through implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, international development goals adopted by the United Nations and a host of international organizations to eradicate extreme poverty, reduce child mortality and prevent disease epidemics.   She was the Program Associate for the Connect to Learn Global Education Initiative.

Biira’s story has been featured in The New York Times and People magazine, and on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She is also featured in the book “Half the Sky,” by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, as well in several of Kristof’s columns in The New York Times.

“No one better understands the power of Heifer’s Cornerstone of Passing on the Gift than Beatrice,” said Ferrari, referring to Heifer’s requirement that a family that receives an animal pass on the first female offspring of that animal, along with training in its care, to another family in need. “Now, she is fulfilling that promise, passing on her own gifts, with us at Heifer and with the families we help.

“It is the perfect fit.”

Heifer’s mission is to end hunger and poverty while caring for the earth. Since 1944, Heifer International has provided livestock and environmentally sound agricultural training to improve the lives of those who struggle daily for reliable sources of food and income. Heifer is currently working in 40 countries, including the United States, to help families and communities become more self-reliant.

For more information, visit www.heifer.org/ or call 1-800-696-1918.