Goats and Donkeys Transform Lives in Darfur

Good progress is being made in launching our programme of activities in our 60th village, Mugabil. Our Project staff are making frequent visits to the village to help the community to establish the Village Development Committee and Animal Loans Committee which will manage the project activities. The community has identified the poorest households to be recipients of the goat and donkey loans. In the past in our villages the poorest 10% of the households in the villages have been eligible to receive livestock loans but as a result of the drought in the past year many families are really struggling to survive and KIDS FOR KIDS is now hoping to be able to extend the provision of livestock loans to the poorest 15% of households in the community. At the same time, however, livestock prices in the local markets have increased dramatically and the local agents engaged by the project management to purchase the livestock are having to search over a wider area to seek out high quality animals at a reasonable price. We are, however, still having to pay significantly more than we anticipated and this means that the contributions of all our supporters become even more valuable.

The fodder situation is also difficult as a result of the drought with pasture currently only available near wadis and hill areas. Whilst many of our livestock beneficiaries in our villages have thankfully been able to store hay for the dry season we feel the need to lay greater emphasis on finding solutions to the recurrent fodder shortages as access to quality fodder is crucial for maintaining productive animals for the families. Hence we are holding discussions with various local experts to devise a pilot project to see how our families could increase their fodder production. The details are still being worked out and will be reported on in due course. In addition to promoting increased fodder production, the pilot project will also work with the families to increase their understanding of animal nutrition and the value and benefits of different fodder crops and will provide training to beneficiaries in the optimum utilisation of the different  fodder resources available.  We hope that these initiatives will ensure that our families are able to otbain the maximum benefits from their animals to provide the income which they need to pay for school fees, medicines, etc. to improve their lives.

Our most exciting piece of news is that we have recently selected the 60th village to be supported by KIDS FOR KIDS. The village is Mugabil which is located 40 kms north of the provincial capital, El Fasher. We were very keen to reach this landmark in our 10th anniversary year and look forward to moving steadily towards our 100th village which will call for real celebrations - but that is still a little way in the future !. Our local Project staff will be visiting the new village regularly to explain the details of the programme and the key principle of self-reliance and community responsibility for management of the project activities. Thereafter the Project staff will be helping the community to establish the structure of village committees required to manage the project effectively. In due course the village will be selecting two volunteers to be trained as paravets and also selecting the families to be recipients of the goat and donkey loans - more on all of this in the next update.

In the meantime the families in the five villages which we introduced to our programme in 2011 who received goats and donkeys in the last quarter of 2011 are making good progress and are beginning to derive the benefits. The donkeys are particularly appreciated to take some of the drudgery out of the daily tasks of collecting water, fodder and fuel. The women are so grateful now that they no longer have to walk for long distances carrying heavy water pots and loads of firewood on their heads. As most of the goats received by the families were pregnant their flocks are beginning to increase - some families who received 5 female goats now have 10 goats. The children in these families are now much better fed and enjoy better health now that they regularly have milk from the goats which is rich in minerals and proteins. Being better nourished they are able to make better use of their time at school being able to concentrate better in class. So in many ways the goats contribute to a better future for the most vulnerable children in Darfur. And all this is only possible through the generous support of our donors and we, and the families and communities in Darfur, are very grateful for your support. There are many more poor families needing assistance and we hope that you will continue to support us and help us to do still more for the vulnerable families in Darfur where the conditions of life are so very difficult.