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Ken and Connie Rutt, who have travel extensively, are forming the International
Exchange 4-H Club to give 4-H’ers a chance to develop friendships with youth from
other countries. The Runs believe that the only way to bring the world closer together
is through understanding.
Newly-Formed 4-H International Club
To Build Relationships With Other Cultures
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
—"The only way to come closer in
the world is to understand each
other,” Connie Rutt said.
One of the most effective means
in understanding others is to live
together, learn to know each
other’s families, friends, and talk
together.
Connie and her husband Ken are
doing their part in bringing the
world closer together. After years
of traveling throughout the world
and in opening their home to inter
national visitors, the couple is
forming a new 4-H club. Called the
International 4-H Exchange Club,
the purpose is to educate 4-H’ers
about another culture and give
them a chance to experience it.
Connie has taken five trips to
Poland through the Penn State
Extension. She took part in the
International 4-H Camp with stu
dents from several European coun
tries such as Hungry, Poland, and
Lavia, and helped set up a 4-H
program in Poland.
Several county 4-H’ers were
selected to participate in a 4-H
exchange with Poland.
“It was life changing,” said Ger
ald Boyd, one of the participants.
He was especially intrigued
with the importance of multi
generational families in the Polish
culture. “All the members of the
family came home at lunch time
just so they could spend time
together,” he said.
Team members spent three
weeks living with a host family in
Poland. Gerald and other teens
said that the experience made them
much more aware and grateful for
what they have.
“I had more clothes in my suit
case than my host sister had in her
whole closet,” one 4-H member
reported.
Attitudes and concepts such as
these develop naturally when stu
dents become immersed in other
cultures.
In addition, participants are
amazed to find out that youth in
other countries know a lot more
about the United States govern
ment and history then they them
selves know.
“We want the International 4-H
Club to be an educational expen-
ence. We will study about the
country we will be visiting,” Con
nie said.
In addition, the club will visit
nearby attractions with a cultural
influence and learn to cook foods
typical of the area.
“Members who join the Interna
tional 4-H Club can give input into
selecting the country to visit, but it
must be a country that has invited
us.” Connie said
By that, she is referring to coun
tries that have seen how Penn State
Extension has helped Poland and
have issued invitations for the
Extension to come and do the same
thing in their countries.
The Rutts don’t want the Inter
national Club to be made up of
members whose parents can afford
to pay their own travel costs.
Instead they want members to
raise travel costs through fundrais
ers and other ingenious events.
“I am amazed at the ideas youth
come up with,” Connie said “One
fellow offered to clean up for far
mers and collected scrap metal that
he sold.
Transportation costs are the
primary expense since youth stay
with host families and have basi
cally all food and sightseeing costs
provide by the hosts.
The Rutts have been founda
tional in the success of the county
4-H program. Both were 4-H’ers
growing up. In fact, they met each
other through 4-H. They have both
served as 4-H volunteer leaders for
21 years and have raised three
children who were active in 4-H
clubs.
In 1984, the Rutts participated
in a farm tour that covered eight
European countries. Since then,
they have traveled independently
to numerous countries.
The Rutts sold their dairy cows
within the last year, but continue
to crop farm their Quarryville farm
called Edgefield Farms with their
son Phil. A daughter is married and
has lived in Mexico, Russia, and
now Hungry. Another son is a civil
engineer in New Jersey.
For the past three years, Rutt has
been involved in an agriculture
project in Nigeria. In a joint ven
ture with the United Nations, Rutt
has been breeding native West
African cows by using artificial
insemination of Brown Swiss,
Jersey, and Holstein breeds.
Rutt said that the African cows
produce little milk because they go
months without eating and drink
ing much. A group of native doc
tors who had studied in the U.S.
and returned to their country want
to encourage milk drinking among
their people to prevent numerous
illnesses and deficiencies.
Diabetes is prevalent in Nigeria,
and a theory is that sugars in milk
prevent diabetes.
“Because the native doctors are
behind this venture, it isn’t like the
U.S. coming in trying to change
their culture," Rutt said.
Rutt travels to Nigeria about
three times annually and spends
several weeks at a time there.
Rutt’s goals are not only to pro
duce milk, but to show the natives
how to produce milk and to pro
vide employment for the natives
on the ranch.
Although the natives are curious
and watch insemination closely,
they are skeptical. It’s difficult for
the natives to understand a concept
that they can’t see.
Rutt is confident that when they
see the offspring, they will want to
have their cows bred also.
Using the latest technology in
breeding cattle, Rutt said they have
had an unbelievable 94 percent
success rate in breeding.
The ranch is located in an iso
lated area. People live in huts and
farm completely by hand. No
electricity or refrigeration is
available.
He said that many techniques
that American farmers take for
granted are not easily understood
in other cultures. For example,
after he assisted in planting com to
feed the chickens and the chickens
were consistently laying eggs
under his watchful eye, Rutt left
and was told that the chickens had
stopped laying eggs. Upon further
inquiry he learned that the chick
ens had not been fed for several
days.
He also had a difficult time con
vincing the natives to plant only
one com kernel per hole. He
needed to show them how it grew
when only one was planted in the
hole but if four were planted there
nothing could be harvested.
“Work is slow in another cul-
(Turn to Pago BIS)
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