For a Farmer in North America, the acquisition of one goat, 2 pigs, or 3 baby chicks wouldn’t mean much, but in a developing country it can change a life.
By Graham Dyer, Farms.com
While the farming sector may have had some challenges this year, we all recognize that in many parts of the world, small-scale agriculture can be the difference between survival and disaster. Plan reports that through its Gifts of Hope program families living in the Gatsibo district in Rwanda do not have access to common livelihood initiatives. These families struggle to make an income that would pay for basic necessities like housing and food.
That all changed because of some goats. Plan ensured that more than 1,000 families in this district received at least one goat, as well as basic training in livestock management and breeding. The families were then able to generate income from selling the goat’s milk, cheese and butter at the local market. As part of the plan program, the Gift of Goats continues to benefit the community long after the initial donation as the initial recipients of the goats must pass on their goat’s offspring to their neighbors. As a result, the lives of thousands of people have been transformed. All thanks to plan donors. It truly is a gift that keeps on giving.
Another Plan success story is the Peanut Butter Project, which has changed the lives of more than 4,000 families in Zimbabwe’s Mutare district. Through Gifts of Hope, the Smallholder Farmers group bought new machines for their peanut butter business, including a roaster, sheller and grinder. As a result of the machines, the group was able to significantly increase peanut butter production, while at the same time easing the burden on the women previously responsible for stone grinding the peanuts. Income has also increased for hundreds of peanut farmers who are also utilizing the new machinery to process their peanuts.
To make a donation
In the United States, you can visit Plan USA http://www.planusa.org/content1565800
In Canada, you can visit the Plan Canada Gifts of Hope website at http://plancanada.ca/GiftsOfHope/
If you are interested in giving a Gift of Hope this year during the holidays, a little can go a long way in terms of agriculture projects. Here is what your contributions can do with Plan:
• Goats ($75 each, $775 for a herd)
A goat provides milk for a family: protein, nourishment and health. This gift also provides the possibility of a livelihood, an income and the ability to make choices about the future.
• 3 baby chicks ($17)
Once they start laying eggs, chickens become an instant source of income, often for women, who sell the eggs, breed the chickens and help provide for their families. They are also an important teaching tool for young girls to learn livestock management skills that they can use to make a living.
• Rapidly-reproducing rabbits ($35)
Six rabbits, which can breed up to 10 bunnies every 31 days, can also create an instant business for a family. That business means food on the table and an income to build a future.
• 3 hens and a rooster ($80)
Three hens and a rooster mean food and a continuous source of income. They mean the ability to pay for education, housing and health care — and a changed future for a family.
• 2 pigs ($90)
With their short gestation period, a virile male and fertile female will combine to make lots of piglets, many times over. And with legendary garbarator abilities, and nutrient-rich manure, pigs help curb food waste and contribute to lush crops.
• A farmload of animals ($190)
This gift of pigs, rabbits and a goat will be divvied up between families in communities throughout the developing world, helping them feed their children and generate income to pay for housing, healthcare and education. Strong, healthy families make for strong, healthy communities, the true harvest of this gift.
• Water and sanitation for a community ($1,000)
An idea gift for groups or people who can afford a larger-size donation. This gift helps every girl, boy, man and woman in a community battle thirst, illness, and disease with clean water and training in sanitation.
• Mango trees (15 each, 10 for $120)
Juicy and nutritious fruit for kids in school; also used to teach children how to plant in school gardens.
• School vegetable garden
Children will prepare the soil, sow the seeds, water the plants, harvest the produce. They’ll learn valuable lessons in science and math, and they will use that knowledge to help their families grow food to eat and sell. Students will enjoy their harvest during the school day, and can also sell some produce to stock classrooms, buy books, repair the school or enroll more students.