Goats and Donkeys Transform Lives in Darfur

You may know that over the summer we finalized our adoption of five new Kids for Kids Villages:
Absharback, Fardal, Geleidat, Hashab Baraka, and Um Judoul! We have now held Inception Meetings in each village where the community democratically selected the first families in each village that will benefit from the Goat Loan Program and receive a Donkey. As a reminder, we give six goats and a donkey to 15% of the poorest families in each village we adopt. After two years, a little flock of goats has been built up, and we are able to pass six goats from each flock on to another benefitting family! Goats' milk provides essential nutrients and protein for children that are malnourished. Donkey's are the only means of transporation, as there are no roads in Darfur. Our team has been back to the villages to teach each beneficiary how to properly care for the goats and donkey they have received. This training is essential to the success of our programs. 

We are thrilled to be able to adopt these new villages and give the families goats, thereby beginning the sustainable program that will eventually benefit everyone in the village! Our goat loan program has shown great success over the years in every single village we have adopted. We have just received some information from Kulkul, a village we adopted in 2015. In 2015, 74 people received goats- a total of 394 goats all together. Today, after two years, the goats are into their second rotation and will benefit 74 additional families. There are now 678 goats, 363 of which are kids. 

Khalthuma is one of the original beneficiaries in 2015 in Kulkul when she received five goats and one donkey from Kids for Kids. Khalthuma is 42 years old and has seven children and her son Ahmad, 11 years old, helps to care for the goats after school. Khalthuma's small flock of goats has grown in size and she now has the biggest flock in the village, 28 goats! She has been able to feed her children, and is hoping in the future to sell a billy goat to help her meet her children's school expenses.

It is a joy to see how well our beneficiaries are doing, and how much the animals have changed their lives. We hope you will continue to support this project. Every little can go so far in Darfur, and make a huge difference to a family who has nothing. Thank you.  It is truly you that makes this happen!