U. Project Hopes to Buy Cows for Cambodia
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
SALT LAKE CITY – What do University of Utah students, cows and Cambodia have in common? They are linked through a project to help people rise out of poverty.
“We have some very dedicated students who have educated themselves on microcredit, its potential, the impact it can have on lives,” said economics professor Wade Roberts.
Members of his international economics class want to take an idea – microcredit – halfway around the world. They have only seen video or pictures of the poverty in Cambodia but some of the students at the U. and Westminster College will travel to see for themselves in June.
“You learn you don’t really know the world as well as you think you do,” said engineering student Mauricio Caceres. “Once you learn what these people live through, then you learn, you, yourself, didn’t know much about the world itself. You can’t get your head wrapped around that these things exist, but they do.”
The students first designed manuals for five countries, then chose a country where they believe they can make a difference.
The students hope to raise $10,000 to buy cows. They chose Cambodia because the money will buy more there. One dollar, they say, is worth 7,000 times more there than it is here.
“If we value life equally, amongst all the different demographics of the world, we really need to consider where our dollar is most effective,” one student said.
Each cow costs $250, which includes shots, feed and shelter.
