Giving llamas spurred by class discussion

By Karl Lang

A Global Human Rights senior colloquium class recently purchased two llamas for Third World families as a way to affect people beyond Indianola.

The llamas were bought through Heifer International, a program that works to give families and communities a source of food rather than short-term relief. The llamas cost $150 each.

Patricia Calkins, associate professor of German, is teaching the class and said the class was looking to make all Iowans interested in this subject.

“The way we’re looking at this class is how do we make Iowans get interested enough in human rights that they do something about it,” Calkins said.

The idea for the project was spurred by a class discussion on how they could personally make a difference in the lives of underprivileged people around the world.

“The (students) in the class were really feeling like…’we have these strategies of what we can do, but what is the actual concrete thing you can do next?’” Calkins said. “I decided to bring to class a couple of options of the sorts of non-profit organizations that are out there, that allow you to help people in a small way, but make a really big impact.”

Calkins credits senior Jenni Humphrey for organizing the fundraising project, and she is quick to point out that it was a class project.

“Because of the class we met more than our goal by the deadline,” she says, enabling the class to purchase a second llama.