Goats and Donkeys Transform Lives in Darfur

A few months ago, we were able to tell you all that we had successfully purchased goats and donkeys for the five new villages we adopted last year. The goat loans are up and running and in two years, 6 of each flock will be passed on to another family in each village. Our Donkeys are invaluable to families because they are the only means of transport.   There are no roads to the villages of Darfur.  If you do not own a donkey you walk, often over 20 miles for every drop of water.  Our paravets are trained and working to ensure the animals remain healthy and our animal programs remain sustainable. We are thrilled that we have been able to get these projects up and running so we thank you so much for your help in that!

I’d like to introduce you to Thurya who lives in Geleidat, one of the five villages we adopted last year. Thurya is a widow bringing up five children all by herself. She was chosen to be one of the first beneficiaries in the village and received five goats and a donkey. We provided blankets for her children to prevent them getting chest infections which kill children who are weak from malnutrition.   We gave her two mosquito nets to prevent malaria and we gave Thurya farm tools so she could farm more land.   On the 16^th of January our project managers visited Geleidat and were able to tell us just how Thurya’s life is already changing because of the animals. The donkey is instrumental in fetching water from the nearest water yard, 7km away. The goats are providing milk for her five children and her elderly mother - the nutrients are already making them all healthier. And now she is selling yoghourt to other mothers.

However, Thurya still faces problems.   It is getting hotter by the dasy in Darfur, and soon it will be the hottest months of the year.  We have received news that the harvest in many villages has failed, including at Geleidat. Thurya was able to collect some millet but she does not believe it will last her until the rainy months. Famine Disaster Relief has already warned that many villages in Darfur are in 'crisis' because of the failed harvest but not a single aid agency has responded. This is worrying beyond words. Kids for Kids is not an emergency aid organisation but we have to be ready to provide food for people and animals that have had their crops fail. We cannot allow people to go hungry and we must also ensure there is enough fodder to feed our goats and donkeys through these hard months.

There are often situations due to global warming and therefore beyond our control that we must be prepared for. There was extreme flooding in Darfur in September and the goats of 13 of our beneficiaries drowned. Of course, we have replaced those goats, because our goat loans must be sustainable. Thankfully this is an expense that we were able to cover but it means we must raise more to bring goats to the three new villages we will adopting this year. It just shows how important it is to be prepared with the finances to cover such catastrophes, and how needed your donations are to help in covering those costs.

Please, if you can, continue your donations to our work. We are so eager to help as many villages as possible, especially with the de-valuation of the Sudanese Pound last month, making families in Darfur even poorer than ever. Now is the best time to make a donation, because we must know how much we can do this year. We would be grateful if you could pass our reports along to your friends and family -  they might be interested in supporting our work, just like you do!

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!