Heifer International

For generations, Heifer has provided resources and training for struggling small-scale farmers in order to give them a chance to change their circumstances. But solving hunger and poverty on a global scale requires focus on sound, community-based work aligned with a long-term commitment to achieving self-reliance.

Dan West, the founder of Heifer, was a farmer from the American Midwest and member of the Church of the Brethren who went to the front lines of the Spanish Civil War as an aid worker. His mission was to provide relief, but he soon discovered the meager single cup of milk rationed to the weary refugees once a day was not enough.

And then he had a thought: What if they had not a cup, but a cow?  That "teach a man to fish" philosophy is what drove West to found Heifer International. And now, nearly 70 years later, that philosophy still inspires our work to end world hunger and poverty throughout the world once and for all.

Rockville Presbyterian Fellowship donated $5,000 to Heifer and so became one of twenty churches in the United States to earn the Ark Award.

Goats for an African New Year

Presbyterian missionary Josh Heikkela soon discovered that many of the local village pastors in West Africa he works with have no steady income.  Josh is promoting the gift of three goats for each of the pastor’s wives.  The milk from these goats helped to stabilize the pastors’ families.

Samaritan's Purse/Operation Christmas Child

Samaritan’s Purse is a non-denominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world.  Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ.  The  organization serves the church worldwide to promote the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Wells for Africa

Each year Rockville Presbyterian Fellowship Vacation Bible School (VBS) students participate in raising funds for a mission project. At the end of VBS each year the congregation is urged to match the VBS funding.  They usually triple or quadruple the children’s donations.

Last year it was “Wells for Africa”.  Our goal was two or three wells.  We ended up with the funding for nine wells, which meant that nine villages in the Sahar region of Western Africa now have wells to get clean water.  Children and women no longer have to walk miles with plastic five gallon containers to collect muddy water for drinking and cooking.