Livestock for Orphaned Children in Congo

What an amazing year it has been for AFCA's children, thanks to YOU! Because of YOU, thousands of children are thriving and hopeful. Because of YOU, hundreds of children had good food to eat this year. Because of YOU, hundreds of children have livestock and seeds with which to start small businesses. We don't have enough words to thank you for what you've done because it is huge...it is life changing.

Thank you for supporting this livelihood project.  It's an exciting time as we have 20 additional family ready to be added to the program.  Each family is part of a PLWA (People Living With AIDS) community group and all of the families have children who are either orphaned or who are infected. Each family will receive animals, seeds and a water filter, as well as training.

The vaccine fridge is now in use, housing the critical vaccines needed for this project to keep the animals healthy.  Technicians are now trained in caring for the animals, checking for illness, vaccinations and then follow up.  We are thrilled with their progress and feel blessed as the program grows.

As this year comes to a close, we want to thank you for the donations you've made to support our work. If you are making your end of the year giving decisions, please keep us in mind so we can continue helping children in 2016 and beyond.  Please share what we do with others, so they, too, can help our children. Together, we CAN make a difference.

We wish you the best year ever, full of every blessing and happiness imaginable, knowing you are a hope-giver. If you would like to learn more about AFCA and our programs, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@AFCAids.org.

Well, friends, we managed to raise the funds, purchase, deliver and install the fridge - check out the attached photos.  It is so amazing to have this fridge in a very remote part of the country, thanks to donors like you.

Why is this fridge so important?  Well, it will house vaccines which have to be flown in from the capital city of Kinshasa, allowing them to stay cool and protected until they are needed.  With the training of 5 community vet-techs, this project is ready to grow!  These vet-techs now know how to care for animals, how to check for worms and other illnesses, how to vaccinate them, and how to follow up with them.  In time, they will become trainers of other community people, sharing a wealth of information as the project grows and more orphans receive their gifted animals.

For an orphan, the gift of animals is life-changing: they eat eggs and meat and drink milk.  They use the manure for their gardens.  They can barter animals for other essentials.  Better yet, they have hope. Hope YOU helped give them and for which we are eternally grateful.

If you haven't yet, please check out this video  to see the project you supported.  I think you'll be touched.  Please do write me at tweaver@AFCAids.org if you'd like to learn more about our work.  I am always happy to share.

With immense gratitute,

tanya, on behalf of the children.

Jeremie and his wife Sanja had five children and found it difficult to support them all with the meager earnings brough in by Jeremie's sales of matches and candy.  Yet, when Jeremie's brother and sister-in-law died of AIDS complications, the couple adoped their three children.  Then, when Sanja's sister died, they adopted another child.  In addition, they have also adopted an older child, daughter of another relative, who also died of AIDS.  Of course, raising even more children was a larger challenge, but, "Family takes care of family", was the explanation given. 

The family started with the AFCA program 1 year ago, when they received agricultural and animal husbandry training. They also received seeds to plant a house garden and a larger “farm” plot, two female pigs, one male pig, $50, and a water filter. The family now has six piglets that are one month old. They will return three pigs from their litter to the project, so another family can benefit.

The family now has other animals like goats and chickens which they bought with the money from the proceeds of their efforts. Their farm plot is 5 km from their house and on the farmette, the plant corn, peanuts, cassava, and three types of beans. Because Jeremie is strong and active, they rent a plot 100 m x 100 m. It is usual in DRCongo to rent land for 3 years, but this family rented the land for 6 years, and already put a down payment for purchase it at the end of the 6 years! The used the $50 to rent the land and make the down payment and they worked hard to clear the land for making their farm.

They get most of their income from the field, and eat most of what is grown in the house garden. In the house garden they grow vegetables like amarant, morelle, okra, spinach, onions, eggplant, and cucumbers. They also planted a few fruit trees in the yard.  It is a sweet  place, this house of theirs!  

Before receiving the agricultural training, Jeremie was a trader. He would buy candy, cookies, and matches at the big market, then take them to the town center and resell them.  They had neither garden, farm, nor animals. It was extremely hard work for Jeremie, and he could barely earn enough money to feed the family. The things they used to buy/sell caused problems -people would borrow from them and not repay. Some things would not sell. The kids were constantly sick. Now, the farming has been so profitable that he has given up the trading. The things from the garden are popular and always sell for a good price, plus they can eat the products themselves. Now his kids are healthier, well fed, he can buy clothes and soap and other things they need, and all the kids can go to school.  WOW!  You are part of this, friends!

They save seeds for the next planting, thanks to training they received and each child / member of the family has been trained on how to take care of the animals and gardens. Each one has “their” part of the farm which they are responsible for keeping up. Now, during the dry season, the house garden must be watered twice a day. They do this from 5 – 6 a.m. and 5 – 6 p.m. They use animal dung as a compost material and fertilizer and their gardens are doing amazingly well.. 

When interviewed, the family really wanted to thank AFCA for the water filter that they received. The kids used to get sick from a lot from worms and other problems, and now they are much healthier. The whole family is healthier. The price of the bucket to make the filter work was $4, which was expensive, but worth the investment.  

Do you know what YOU have done by supporting this project?  You've lifted a family out of poverty.  You've taken a needy, struggling family who opened their home to AIDS orphans and you gave them food, a job, security, and HOPE.  We can't thank you enough.  

Please share this story with many others - we have so many families in the same situation, or worse, in Congo, and we can help many more, if we have the funds to do so.  Thank you for being part of our work - it is life changing.

The American Foundation for Children with AIDS is proud to share our brand new video, filmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Your heart will be touched by their beautiful faces and personal stories.  You will smile, and perhaps you will shed some tears.  But most of all, you will see hope!  Hope for a future because of donors like yourself you have made a commitment to make a difference in the lives of these children.  Thank you so much to all of you who changed this family's life. Please be sure to share it with all your friends!

Are you up for a challenge?  From April 27 through May 1, thousands of people across the world are coming together to unite against extreme poverty.  Will YOU be one of them?  Go to www.afcaids.org/live to learn more and to sign up.

Please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@afcaids.org if you would like to learn more about our programs or find out how you can make a difference TODAY.

Links:

• Democratic Republic of Congo

Dear friends,

What an amazing year it has been for AFCA's children, thanks to YOU!  Because of YOU, thousands of children are thriving and hopeful.  Because of YOU, countless children are healthy and they have returned to school.  Because of YOU, hundreds of children had good food to eat this year.  Because of YOU, hundreds of children have livestock and seeds with which to start small businesses. And because of you, children like Maria not only eat well, but also go to school, dreaming of a future free of poverty. We don't have enough words to thank you for what you've done because it is huge...it is life changing.

Thank you for caring for the little ones we serve and for giving them a brighter future.  You are the ones who allow us to keep working for them, providing them with medicine, medical supplies, clean water, food, school fees and supplies, livestock, seeds, self-reliance and HOPE.

As you make your end of the year giving decisions, please keep us in mind so we can continue helping children in 2015 and beyond.

We wish you the best year ever, full of every blessing and happiness imaginable, knowing you are a hope-giver.  If you'd like to learn even more about what we do or how you can meet some of the children you have helped, please contact me at tweaver@AFCAids.org.  I'd love to chat with you!

On behalf of the children,

tanya