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Central & Eastern Europe Endowments
What began with uprisings and the fall fo the Iron Curtain in the Eatern Bloc in the late eighties ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early nineties. The people of Eastern Europe were left to contend with a legacy of communism and the Cold War. Countries throughout Central and Eastern Europe were ravaged by rampant poverty, inequality, and environmental catastrope (including natural disasters, industrial pollution, the Chernobyl catastrophe, and devastated farmlands). Enthnic tensions and civil war also plagued the area, and many countries had to redefine their boundaries and identities.
Post-communist states had to undergo more than just a political revolution. The fall of communism meant that fundamental economic, legal, ideological, and social change had to be introduced. This massive overhaul was demanded of an area where individual talents and visionary minds had been suppressed for two generations. For 50 years, its people, in order to survive, did not dare question and did not dare imagine what could be.
The communist years took the management of the farmland away from the people, leaving the people of Central and Eastern Europe with little management and decision-making experience. The majority of the countries, after years of struggling, continue to struggle today.
Since its rebirth in 1992, the Central and Eastern program of Heifer International has seen tremendous growth. Heifer's work in Europe dates back to post World War II, but with the growth of communism and the Cold War era, program development in Central and Eastern Europe ceased.
Now, after more than 40 years of centralized economic systems, the transition to a free market economy for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe is exacting a toll on many families. Change has been slow and will continue to create economic hardship for years to come. Heifer International's grass roots approach to sustainable rural development has helped to rebuild the small family farms that will sustain not only the farm families but also the communities where they live.
Central & Eastern European Countries Where Heifer is Working:
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine as well as the Caucasus region within Central and Eastern Europe.
Current Endowments for Central & Eastern Europe:
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