IMPACT OF THE GOAT
PROJECT
The impact of the goat Programme
The following is an extract from the Why United Foundation report year ending 2013. (WHY : Where Hope Yields)
In ensuring that the families supported by WU are
Self-sustained, WU embarked on a female goat project, this has been
done repeatedly since inception of the programme, this project
benefits have not only impacted on the lives of the sponsored
families but to the community as well. Since inception some
families can now share and a few can also sell some little milk to
the neighbors from these goats and this has improved family’s
source of income. The manure obtained from the goats is used to add
fertility to the soils and thus improving food
production.
This
year all the sponsored children were issued with one female goat
aging between 12 to 16 months to add on the stock that they already
have, this project is expected to ensure that the families have
resources of their own which they can use for their continuity way
beyond the sponsor period.
Through
collaboration with the ministry of livestock and veterinary
departments from both Tharaka north and south all the goats were
vaccinated to enable them withstand against illness that may arise
as a result environmental change and make adaptability easy,
deworming which should be done repeatedly every three months was
done too and they were also ear tagged with children Identification
numbers.
For
upgrading purpose all the catchments were also issued with one pure
male Galla, this was done through well-structured groups within the
catchment, further intention is to move the bucks across the
catchment areas to avoid line breeding and inbreeding, the ultimate
result is to improve on the quality of the kids got from these
female goats. The goat project has proved to be the best
sustainability component in the WU programme and where the proper
care and management is used many benefits have been
realized.
There is a remarkable benefits from the goat project that was started in the year 2010; the immediate, direct benefits is milk and manure, but from the assessment carried our recently every family apart from the children that joined the programme last year the average number of goats are 10 per child.
Aron: comes from a single parent family whose mother engages in peasant faming, the family used to share shelter until late year 2012 when they were able to sell most of the goats and built a three roomed iron sheet roofed and brick walled house. The family is still left with four goats that are healthy.
Jackson: -
this family sold most of the of the goats and bought a cow, which
has more value and better returns and yet the boy still has one
more goat remaining.
Anthony :- This boy is left with 3 goats after selling some of the goats and building one roomed house for himself. (In Kenyan culture the boys must move out of the family home at about the age of 13