Goats and Donkeys Transform Lives in Darfur

For our new villages, adopted in 2022, this is an incredibly exciting time of year!

This is when the Goat Beneficiaries - the poorest families who will receive 5 Nanny Goats each - are chosen.

These families are democratically chosen by the Village Steering Committee - which has also been democratically appointed by the villagers.

When Patricia Parker OBE set up Kids for Kids, she asked "but won't other families be jealous if they are not also receiving 5 Nanny Goats?"

"No," came the answer - "those families will be happy that they now don't need to support the poorer families by sharing their own meagre rations."

In Hillat Um Gadeer, one of the 5 villages adopted by Kids for Kids in 2022, 28 famiiles have been chosen to receive 5 Nanny Goats each. There will also be a Billy Goat for every three families in each village to be shared between the families who also take turns to look after him. 

After two years, our sustainable Goat Loan ensures that, once the little flocks have grown, 5 Nanny Goats will be passed on from each of these families to another family to benefit. So in two years, another 28 families will benefit, and then after another 2 years, another 28 families, and another 28 and so on.  Each family passing on goats then owns the remaining flock - which provides an income for the mothers.   "When crops fail" says Patricia "owning a flock of goats is quite literally a life saver.   The income from the sale of male goats and the milk and yogurt - and some have enough to make cheese too - is often the first time a mother can make decisions for her own family."

Hakima's family is one of the lucky Goat beneficiaries in Hillat Um Gadeer.

Hakima is 35 years old and is married with 6 chidren - 5 boys and a girl.

Her husband, Ibrahim, is a farmer.

During the rainy season, Hakima and her families crops failed totally. They now have no millet and no sorghum stock.

Hakima's only ambition is to find food for her children each day. It's the only thing that keeps her going.

"This year has been very difficult," Hakima says. "It's like war days. My youngest child is so malnourished I have to walk to Kerkara village health unit - which is a long way away across the sand - to get emergency plummy nuts for her."

But our Goat Loan will change Hakima's life and give her and her family hope.

The Goats will provide nutritious milk and desperately-needed vitamins and protein to strengthen their young bones, teeth and even brain cells.

Hakima will have the option to sell any excess Goat's milk and yoghurt to earn herself a living.

For the first time, Hakima will be able to look to the future, rather than just living day-to-day.

Hakima will be able to make decisions for herself and her family, be able to save for the future, plan an education for her chidren, a life out of poverty.

WE REALLY ARE CHANGING LIVES, ONE GOAT AT A TIME.

But we now need to buy the goats for all of these families.

Could you help us by donating a Goat - or five for a whole family? 

We are so grateful for your support, we really can't do it without you - and just think of the smiles those Goats will bring!

Child starvation is a real threat today in remote villages in Darfur.

Our hearts go out to the Ukraine at this terrible time but, in Sudan, life is also a real struggle, the country is on its knees.

Food prices are soaring due to renewed conflict, failed harvests and economic crisis.  

A small loaf of bread is more than a month's income. Families are living off one scant meal a day. Children will die without help.

But the villages are out of sight, the children forgotten.

Very little is publicized about their desperate situation.  

But we can help, we can make a lasting difference. Goat's milk transforms children's health & chickens provide eggs for the frail elderly.

We are so grateful to all your donations to help us save lives - but there is still so much more to be done.

Kids for Kids provide Goat Loans to families in Darfur - 5 Nanny Goats are lent to the poorest families in villages we adopt so that protein-rich milk can be fed to children to stave off malnutrition.

After 2 years, 5 Nanny Goats are passed on to another poor family to benefit, and so the sustainable cycle continues.

Goats are too much for an older person to manage, so we provide chickens - easy to look after and their eggs are nutritious.

This is the best microfinance scheme in the World.

Short term, you will be saving children from immediate malnutrition. Long term, excess goat's milk is sold to pay for children to go to school - the way out of poverty. Women are empowered with their own income for the first time.  Grandparents are stronger and healthier, and contribute to their communities, passing on skills, wisdom and knowledge. The entire community will benefit and families can plan for the future.

Please can you donate a Goat today to help us save children from starvation and give families hope for the future?