Community Goat Program
Project Summary
In the rural communities of Haiti, about 22 percent of the children aged 6 to 59 months have experienced chronic malnutrition. The Community Goat Program is designed to help alleviate child malnutrition in local agricultural communities. This project will allow families to raise goats for the milk and to be sold in the markets that are not affiliated with a school. The money raised through the sale of the goat will allow them to purchase the necessary food for their families.
Issues
Chronic malnutrition is high in rural communities because families are often limited financially to afford consistent nutrition year around. Chronic malnutrition can lead to blindness, anemia, as well limiting cognitive development therefore limiting the child’s ability to learn in school. Financial limitation not only increases the risk of chronic malnutrition but acts as a barring for the farming ability to raise the necessary capital to invest in new ventures that may be more stable and supplement their income.
Solution
The Community Goat Program is designed to help local farmers to establish other sources of income to achieve financial stability. We will provide them with one adult female goat and access to a male goat. We will follow up with these families every two weeks for the first six months to answer any of their questions and to make sure the goats are managed properly. Once the female has her first offspring, the farmer will provide a fully weaned female goat back to the program. This female will be given to the next qualified family. All other offspring can be used to provide milk for nutrition purposes or sold for increased financial security. We will provide farmers a two-day goat management and business development course where they will learn the necessary skills to successfully run a goat business.
Donation
Goats are often considered a gift of life to families in rural communities. Please give a goat donation to a family in need. A donation of $75 dollars can change the lives within a family forever.