In the town of Parakou, Benin, West Africa, twenty colorfully-dressed widows met on a bright May day for a two-day training course on— animal husbandry! Specifically, on how to raise, breed, and care for goats, a new program funded by Conscience International to give these ladies a way to support themselves and their families.
The first 20 widows to receive goats gather to learn how to raise them in healthy condition
The idea began with an initial gift earmarked for goats and widows from a donor who had given to a similar program we initiated in Bangladesh a few years ago. This time, Conscience International Program Director for West Africa, Baker Hill, knew just where to partner to get the program started. He contacted an organization that provides support to women and girls in several African countries.
They would create two training sessions, buy the goats, deliver them to the widows, and have a veterinarian follow up for a couple of months—and they wanted to be assured the program would have long-term benefits for the widows.
Over two days the eager women explored the advantages of goat raising (selling milk for income), breeding (selling new-born goats for income), reproductive management, the importance of good nutrition, hygiene, and disease prevention for the animals they would receive free of charge.
One widow said: “Before this training, we thought we knew a lot about livestock farming, but we learned many more important things, such as animal selection and disease prevention.”
One of the program directors said it best. “It has been such an encouragement to see how one donation from one donor can have an impact on twenty widows.”
PLEASE HELP MAKE THIS A LONG-TERM BENEFIT FOR MORE WIDOWS
IN NEED OF SELF-SUPPORT.
ONE GOAT COSTS ONLY $35
BUT ANY AMOUNT YOU CAN SEND WILL BUILD THIS PROGRAM.
Donate by check to: Conscience International, PO Box 1163, Alpharetta, GA 30009
Or, on our secure donation page here
Or, by scanning the QR CODE
(You can tag your donation: “Africa Goats”)
