Monica's goats

Just before I left home, the young children of our church announced their annual fundraiser for Heifer International, once again challenging the congregation to meet an ambitious goal of raising enough money to purchase several Arks of goats, pigs, sheep, llama, etc. Therefore, it was a special pleasure for me to spend the day with Dr. Vincent Oloo, a veterinarian who works with community groups to implement Heifer's livestock projects. We visited three homes to meet families participating in Heifer's programs and heard three powerful stories of how receiving a goat or a cow had provided both economic security and personal well-being.

When I asked Monica how her goat had provided for her family, she gestured with a sweep of her arm to the new home and kitchen which stood on the compound. When her house burned down last year, she had enough savings to build this new home, replacing the old home's thatched roof with a much safer and durable tin roof. Prior to receiving her doe a couple of years ago, Monica worked in other people's gardens, sunup to sundown, earning 50 shillings per day (about 65 cents) for a total annual income less than $200. Now Monica earns about $2.50 per day just by selling the goat milk her family doesn't consume. In addition, she is able to sell the kid goats -- 3 each year -- for about $200 apiece. She estimates her annual income is now about $1500. She's not wealthy, but she is more secure and, as importantly, more confident that her family can survive whatever challenges they face.

Dr. Oloo is very interested in working with Umoja Project guardians. Our hope is that we can find a creative way in which livestock projects, such as Monica's goats, can support individual households as well as our school lunch programs. It certainly was an inspiring day, making me appreciate all the more the efforts of our congregation's children to raise money for those Arks!