Goats and Donkeys Transform Lives in Darfur

Good progress has been made over the last three months in implementing the project activities in the five new villages adopted in 2011 - Um Layouna, Amar Jaded, Hilat Kabir, Elfaki Ali and Siwailanga. The village level veterinary services are now fully in place with the newly trained paravets equipped with their veterinary kits and cross bred donkeys and the revolving veterinary drugs funds established in each village to ensure that livestock owners have ready access to the necessary drugs when their animals are sick. During the last three months all the households who will receive goat and donkey loans have received detailed animal husbandry training to ensure that they are well equipped to look after their animals properly. The training covered animal nutrition, welfare, health and reproduction. In total training was provided to 383 people including members of the Animal Loans Committees which will be responsible for managing the goat and donkey loans. In addition 5 children in each village who comprise the Children's Shepherd Committee also received training as children play a major part in caring for the animals - in particular they are frequently responsible for grazing the animals on the communal grazing lands around the village. As the children are so closely involved in caring for the animals they are in a good position to detect early signs of sickness in the animals if they are trained in the symptoms to look out for. The Children's Shepherd Committee members are responsible for checking all the animals on a weekly basis and for reporting any signs of sickness to the Animal Loans Committee and the paravets. This process helps to ensure that the beneficiaries' goats and donkeys remain healthy and productive.

Following the completion of the animal husbandry training the beneficiary households have all received their goats and donkeys. Each household received 5 female goats whilst a male goat is shared between 3 households. In total 885 goats (830 females and 55 males) have been distributed to 166 households. In addition each household has been provided with a donkey.  These poor families now have both a source of income from the goats from the sale of milk and kids and milk as a source of nutrition for their malnourished children. This has a hugely significant impact on the health of the children. In a survey of villages in Darfur carried out by UNICEF in 2010, UNICEF noted that KIDS FOR KIDS' villages stood out for the low levels of malnutrition.

The donkeys also make a huge difference to families, particularly to the women, who no longer have to carry heavy loads of water, firewood and fodder on their heads. The donkey also saves time as it can carry 4 jerry cans of water whilst a woman can only carry one - so apart from reducing the journey time to the water source there is no need to go so often to collect the water requirements of the household. Children are frequently given the task of collecting water and being able to complete the task more quickly with the donkey they now have time to go to school and to obtain the education which can give them the chance of a better future. In addition to reducing the drudgery of the daily tasks of collecting water, firewood and fodder for the household the donkeys also provide a source of income through rental or through sales of additional water, firewood and fodder which the family has been able to collect. Income from the goats and the donkey enables a family to buy things which it could never afford before - to pay for water and school fees and books and to buy medicines for sick children. Above all it provides peace of mind knowing that they have a means of covering future emergencies - this is the gift your support has given to vulnerable families in Darfur and they are eternally grateful.   

In the last three months the 105 families in Tikailat, Abu Nahla and Khreiban villages who are included in the programme have received their donkeys - one per family. The arrival of the donkeys will make a tremendous difference to their lives. The daily task of collecting water by the women and children, who often have to go long distances to the water source often taking several hours out of the day, will be so much easier. The time taken will be drastically reduced by using the donkey and the donkey can carry 4 jerry cans whereas a woman can only carry one can on her head. This means that they might not have to go each day to collect water. The luxury of having the donkey to  bear the weight of the water cans is clearly appreciated by the women and children - now they only have to walk beside the donkey. There are also significant health benefits for the women as many women suffer from hernias caused by the weight of the loads which they carry. The hours now saved in collecting water can be used by the women more productively to tend their crops or livestock better or to pursue other income generating activities. The donkey also saves time and effort in other vital tasks undertaken by women such as collecting firewood and fodder for the animals. As the needs of the household can be met more quickly the women now have time to collect more firewood or fodder which they can sell in the market to provide more income for the family or they can hire out the donkey to be used by other families. Thus a donkey costing just £50 can make so much difference to a family. The ability to earn more income can take a family from a desperate daily struggle to survive to gradually feeling more secure - being able to buy medicines for sick children, to pay for school fees, books and uniforms which can enable their children to attend school for the first time and above all to be able to bild up some financial reserves to provide peace of mind in their ability to cope with future emergencies. The donkey provides children with the chance of a better future - it provides them with the time to go to school now that they no longer have to spend hours a day collecting water and the money to pay for the school fees and other costs and education can provide the children with a pathway out of poverty for themselves and their families - the source of a brighter and more hopeful future. It is amazing that one donkey can achieve so much - it truly can transform lives.

 During the past three months Kids for Kids has also expanded it programme in Darfur to include 5 new villages - Um Layouna, Amer Jadid, Hilat Kabir, Elfaki Ali, and Siwailanga.  These villages have a population of almost 10,000 in 1,661 households. In due course Kids for Kids will be providing the same assistance with goats and donkey loans to the poorest 166 households. So far the villages have set up their Village Development Committees and Animal Loans Committees and the members of these committees have received 4 days' training in KIDS FOR KIDS development ethos (self-help and priority to the poorest), management and administrative procedures, bookkeeping and accounting, and loan procedures. The villages have identified the poorest families to be recipients of the livestock loans and these families, as well as the members of the committees, will be receiving animal husbandry training very shortly ahead of receiving their animals. In addition, the villages have identified two people in each village to be trained as paravets to ensure that both the animals provided on loan and all the other livestock in the villages will be healthy and productive. The paravets underwent their training in June and will be provided with starter kits of basic equipment and drugs and a cross bred donkey to be able to reach their clients. A revolving veterinary drugs fund will also be established in each village before the livestock loans are provided to the beneficiaries.