Children affected and/or infected by AIDS in Zimbabwe are in a terrible situation. They lack funds with which to purchase food. This project will provide 60 children with rabbits so they can start their own warrens, providing them with food, training (husbandry and gardening) and an income for the future. Rabbit pellets and seeds are included in this project for the first year of the project, until gardens can be established by the children.
Matopos, Zimbabwe has been hit hard by a drought and children affected and/or infected by AIDS have been hit doubly hard. With elderly or no guardians to watch over them, they are facing starvation. They lack the resources to pay for school fees, food, blankets, soap, and other daily needs.
We provide each orphan family with 2 female rabbits, rabbit pellets for 1 year, seeds for personal gardens, husbandry and conservation gardening training (to garden in drought areas), and with counseling. Male rabbits are given to a community worker in order to control the rate of breeding and to keep inbreeding at a minimum. After six months in the program, orphans will have rabbits to barter, sell and eat and a garden from which to eat veggies and to feed their rabbits - a business is born!
1. 75% of children will maintain or gain weight by the end of the second year of the project 2. 85% of the children will return to school after three years on the program because they can afford school supplies and uniforms 3. 80% of the girls who head up the homes will return to school by the end of the second year of the project. 4. The visits to the doctor by 80% of the children will be reduced by 65% by the end of the third year due to good nutrition derived from the project.
