Goats and Donkeys Transform Lives in Darfur

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.