 The
Goat That Changed Everything
Note: Millions of African grandmothers
find themselves suddenly responsible for their
grandchildren who have been orphaned by AIDS - with
no means to provide for them. This is the story
of one Kenyan grandmother, Ruth, and how one goat
changed her life and the lives of her HIV-positive
grandchildren.
The two small children
were sick and alone. Their mother had just died from
AIDS and they had already lost their father. Now they
too were HIV-positive. With their small bodies already
so weak and frail, they had little chance of fighting
off the disease. Who could help them?
Most of us might
turn away from such a desperate situation, telling
ourselves there was nothing we could do. Ruth Nyambura
could not turn away. The children were her grandchildren.
Ruth had already
raised nine children in this arid region of Kenya 's
Central Province , and buried two of them. She felt
old now, and her bones would talk to her when the rains
were coming. They had recently started grumbling even
when the rains weren't coming. How could she manage
two small children -- especially two small sick children,
who had sores that needed tending and who needed help
even to eat? And how could she feed them? She could
barely feed herself from her tiny garden, and the children
would need more than that -- they would need milk.
What could she do?
And then the goat
came and changed everything.
Our local NGO partners
at Farming Systems Kenya selected Ruth for a community
development program. Ruth was given a milk goat. She
received training - both in how to manage the goat
and in how to expand her small subsistence garden.
Ruth also was provided with a water pump for irrigation
-- a priceless gift in such an arid land.
It has been one
year now since the goat came. One goat has become seven.
Two pregnancies each produced healthy triplets. The
little goats are teaching the children to smile again.
The latter are also thriving on the goat's milk, which
is believed to strengthen the auto-immune system of
HIV-infected children. Their sores have healed.
And Ruth - who never
even had the chance to go to school - has found, to
her surprise, that she is a talented businesswoman.
Not only are she and the children eating well from
the goat's milk and garden, but she is making a good
income from selling her surplus vegetables and milk.
She and the children have all gained much needed strength,
and the future looks brighter every day.
"I intend
to multiply the goats and have more milk and then
will start selling off the surplus. My own surplus
is gratitude. This project has changed my life ".
|
