Goats for children affected by HIV/AIDS

We have had three new lives to celebrate recently, Rabbit, Stewart and Daniel!  Rabbit arrived first and made her demands known early.  Our does remain with their babies for three days and then, while the babies sleep, they go off with the herd to browse and graze, coming back several times during the day to feed their babies.  At four days old the babies sleep most of the time their mums are away.  Birthing usually happens with several mums delivering within days of each other so the babies have company and are not left on their own – very distressing for any child!  Rabbit’s mum, Hope, delivered earlier than expected so on day three Rabbit found herself with no company – and she told us she was not happy about the situation.  She cried and called until we thought our hearts would  break, so we decided to bring her into the garden where we were working.  She made herself right at home and, at 4 days old she was bossing the dogs around and demanding to share their space.  Ramsy and Pippa were amazingly patient and tolerant of Rabbit’s disrespect for their positions in the home and allowed her great liberties!  Even to the point of Pippa allowing her to share her bed!

While Rabbit made herself comfortable with us, Fred, who is not the most agile goat, managed to slip off a rock while stretching for a leaf just out of his reach, and found himself stuck between the rock and the fence.  He is a large goat and the space was very small.  It took two strong men to assist him out of his predicament!  He was more embarrassed than hurt, I think!  Before Fred joined us he lived in an area with few rocks, on mostly soft sand and grass.  When he arrived he was not sure what a rock was and struggled to jump onto or off of the rocks which we have in abundance on Morning Star.  He has come a long way since then and this little slip was his first in a long time!

Everyone here at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS, and our partners in Africa, thank you for your continued support of this important project.  If you would like to learn even more about this project and others, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@AFCAids.org. 

We started the year by rehoming a small herd of our older ‘ladies’ with their babies to a new venue where we will be pushing the production of milk and its by-products (cheese in its many forms!).  Sarah, a good friend, has been watching our project with keen interest. She is a small-holder farmer who has a few good dairy cows whose milk and cheese she sells to a small market.  We have partnered to promote goat milk into the city of Bulawayo, via her established markets.  With her knowledge and well-established dairy, we are hoping to learn the intricacies of cheese-making. 

Here are Bruce, Trio and Goatrude settling into their new home.  We miss them!  However, it is interesting to see how the younger does are stepping up without the older does around.  When I go into the paddocks to check and chat to the herd it has always been the older does who will come up to me to see what I may have for them. If the younger girls come too close, one look or butt, from them and they scuttle away.  Now those younger girls are keen to come up to me and are delighted when they get the head scratch the older girls used to get!  This photo shows a few of the does that beneficiaries have returned to us after their three-year contracts expired.  Beauty, bottom right, came into us pregnant and produced Luke, a good-looking boy. It has been interesting to meet the characters that have been returned and watch how they have integrated with the rest of the herd.

Everyone here at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS, and our partners in Africa, thank you for your continued support of this important project.  If you would like to learn even more about this project and others, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@AFCAids.org. 

Alice is one of our goat project beneficiaries.  Alice cares for her five grandchildren.  All they have is each other and they have experienced horrible pain, loss, hunger and illness.  If not for the young children, Alice would have given up long ago.  However, this beautiful family was given a second chance.  And they are thriving!  The goat project has given them many opportunities to provide their own food, medicine and fees for school.  

Alice is very happy with Baylor Uganda for supporting her family under the AFCA project.  She tells us, "I was supported with seeds and given goats as well.  My livestock project is doing well and I am also getting manure for my farming.  Great thanks to Baylor Uganda for selecting me and for supporting my family."

Everyone here at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS, and our partners in Africa, thank you for your continued support of this important project.  If you would like to learn even more about this project and others, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@AFCAids.org. 

Donna is HIV+ and so is her husband, Ralph.  Donna is thrilled with Baylor Uganda for supporting her family within the AFCA projects.  She was supported in both the livestock and agriculture programs.  

Ralph and Donna were given seeds and goats.  They started a small banana plantation.  Farming produce allowed them to buy two additional goats to boost their livestock project.  And the livestock project is currently giving them manue to improve their banana plantation.  Donna thanks Baylor Uganda and AFCA for supporting her family and her community in general.

Everyone here at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS, and our partners in Africa. thank you for your continued support of this important project.  If you would like to learn even more about this project and others, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@AFCAids.org. 

Katelyn is one of the beneficiaries of the AFCA project in Karusandara.  She is an HIV+ caregiver and a widow who takes care of her three children. She has also benefited from the three trainings of crop production, animal production and village saving and loaning associations.  Katelyn is very happy with this AFCA project because of the great things she has achieved from the project.

Katelyn tell us, “The AFCA project has done great things in my life. I was given knowledge in the form of trainings in both crop and animal production which has greatly improved my farming and rearing practices. The village loaning and saving association in which we trained and started is also doing well!  I was given some goats and my animal project is also doing very well. The goats have produced and I have been able to sell some to solve some other emergencies.  I have bought cement, sand and gravel to use in the building of my home.  I hope to complete the house after this harvesting season."

The team here at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS thanks you for supporting this project and the work we do for the children in Africa.  As you start to make decisions regarding your end of year giving, please keep us in mind so we can continue our good work into 2020 and beyond.  We wish you a new year full of many blessings and as much hope as you have shared with us.  If you would like to learn even more about what we do or how you can meet some of the children you have helped, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@AFCAids.org.