Wedson Francois Gets a Goat!!

The second Danda, Haiti child has now received a goat for his family! Wedson Francios and his family will benefit immensely from this gift! We have sold all of the beanie babies that were set up to buy the goats. I am working on purchasing other items to sell for the Christmas packages that will go to benefit the other families on the goat waiting list. There are 5 more families on the waiting list. Stay tuned for more details. Thank you, guys, for participating in the beanie babies for a goat program!! There are 2 families that are very grateful you did!

Beanie Babies & Raffle Results

I will try to have a few bullet points in this one post:

1. The penguin raffle brought in $35 for Carla's fundraiser!!! That is very exciting! 2 names were drawn from the box... And the winners are... Katja & Chrystal! Thank you Heather G, Mack, Katja & Chrystal for participating!

2. Dana has donated some bear beanie babies to raise money for the current fundraisers. They are the ones that I have in pictures in groups of two above. They are selling in singles, but it made more sense to put two together for the photo's sake. They are $8 a piece (all of which goes directly to the current fundraisers) & can be shipped to your CI child in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Philippines, CUS child in Uganda, or HH4H child in Haiti. The deadlines to order are:

Guayaquil, Ecuador & Honduras & HH4H & CUS~ 2/5/10
Guatemala & Mexico~ 2/19/10
Philippines~ 2/26/10

3. Kathy has donated the beanie babies above the bears. They are being sold to provide a goat for families in Haiti. 5 beanie babies sold= 1 goat! Each beanie baby is $8 (all of which goes to the purchase of the goat!) The deadlines to order for each country are shown above in bullet point #2. Just like the other beanie babies, there is only one available of each kind, so it is first come first served.

4. To order any of the beanie babies, go to the web store

5. A BIG thank you goes to Sara S who has gotten the MIC group fundraiser off to a good start! Only $300 more is needed to get all of the items here, and the mothers set up with their business. The women are very anxious and grateful for this opportunity. It couldn't have come at a better time, as they are struggling to feed their children on a daily basis. You can make your donation by clicking the donation button on the MIC site.

5 Beanie Babies = 1 Goat!

We have an awesome opportunity that has been provided for us by a kind woman named Kathy. She recently sent some beanie babies to be used to raise money for Haiti. I have posted the beanie babies on the web store, and they are now ready for purchase! The cool thing is after 5 beanie babies have been purchased, a Haitian family receives a goat!! To be a part of this great opportunity, you can purchase a beanie baby here.

The beanie baby sells will help Emerlie, Julnise, Adnel, Francelyn, Renel, Rood-Djevlo, and Wedson’s families! These seven great kids are sponsored through the His Hands for Haiti program by Sara, Mack, Shana, Katja, & Heather. We are raising money to provide each child with a goat. In Haiti, goats are like living banks. They provide families with milk, meat and a source of income.

Emerlie, Julnise, Adnel, Francelyn, Renel, Rood-Djevlo, and Wedson all live in a rural area of Haiti known as Danda. As most of you know by now, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Most Haitians survive on less than $2 a day, and more than a quarter of Haitian children suffer from chronic malnutrition. Danda (which means "Silly People") is a prime example of how difficult life can get it Haiti. This is a small community of approximately 1,000 people. Fourteen other small villages in the area are home to an additional 3,500 people. The area is very remote and very rural. Most people survive as subsistence farmers.

Goats are valuable property in Haiti, the equivalent of a 401(k) in the States. Goat’s milk, the primary milk in Haiti, can add protein to a family’s diet and help prevent malnutrition. Additionally, a full-grown goat can reproduce one to three times a year, providing offspring that can be used for meat or sold. The income that results from selling goat kids can help families buy basic (but otherwise unaffordable) necessities like food, shelter, clothing, schooling and medical care. You can see why, for many rural Haitians, owning a goat is the first step out of poverty.

Here is a bit more information about the sponsored children this project will benefit: Emerlie is 6 years old, and in the 2nd level at school. She lives with her mother and father, 1 brother and 2 sisters. Julnise is 9 years old, in the 1st level at school. She lives with her parents, 3 brothers and 3 sisters. Francelyn, Renel, Rood-Djevlo, Adnel and Wedson are all ten-year-old boys. Francelyn and Adnel are both in the 3rd level in school. Francelyn lives with his father, 1 brother and 1 sister. Adnel lives with his parents and 5 brothers. Renel and Rood-Djevlo are both in the 1st level at school. Renel lives with his mother and 3 sisters. Rood-Djevlo lives with his mother and father, 5 brothers and 2 sisters. Last, but not least, Wedson is in the 4th level at school. He lives with his mother and 1 brother.

One final note: When these children receive their goats, each will be required to give the goat’s first offspring back to the His Hands for Haiti program. The offspring will then be given to another child in the program, allowing a new family to benefit this reliable source of food and income. So these goats are truly the gift that gives twice!

Each goat costs $40, so the total cost of this Income Generating Project, which will aid seven families now (and more in the future!) is only $280!

Thank you for taking the time to learn about this project. Any donation you can offer is greatly appreciated!

Your Answer Regarding Pictures of the Goats

I know that HH4H does not usually provide pictures of packages and goats. There are several reasons for this. The first reason is that there is not a staff person with a camera. The volunteer group from the US goes to Haiti twice a year. It is at this time that they take the annual photos of the children. Danda children are the children that are photographed in the fall (usually). Also, it is not a good idea to draw attention to things being given out as it may cause a riot. I don't know about you, but I would rather have my child safe.

I did ask Jamie if there was a way that they would be able to get some pictures of our children with their goats. They are going to Haiti in March. I know pictures mean a lot, especially when you are giving something (to show that the child received it). We are all used to the CI way, and it is hard to think of sending things and not getting a picture. However, you should be able to find out from your child in a letter that they did receive whatever items you sent.

Here is my question to Jamie:

"I forgot where you all are going in March. I am thinking you told me that Danda is in the fall, right? I hope I am wrong. I am planning the goat fundraiser, and I know these sponsors would really like pictures. If you were going to Danda in March, I would ask if you could take pictures of the families with their goats that we bought. Just let me know if it is even possible so that I can let the group know. I know there is no photographer on staff."

Here is Jamie's detailed reply:

"The Danda children are usually updated in the fall but we usually go out there every time we go to Haiti , even if we don’t need to update all the children. There were some in Danda who were absent last time so we need to try to update them this time so their sponsors won’t have to go 2 years without new info. BUT (and that’s a big but – no pun intended!) I can’t ever promise photos of anything. We will do the best we can to get them and if it works out we’ll be happy to do it. But we’re talking about Haiti here and we always have to figure in the unexpected. There’s always the possibility that something could happen and we wouldn’t be able to get out there. Danda is in a very remote area and the road to get out there is extremely rugged. So it’s not out of the realm of possibility that we might not be able to get out there on that road. Even if we do get out there, there’s always the possibility that the families (or some of the families) might not show up with their goats. Again, we can try to make the necessary arrangements but we’re not entirely in control over what happens on the Haitian end of things. Pastor Elima is very understanding and cooperative but I can’t guarantee that all the families would be there. So the best I can promise is that we will make the appropriate arrangements and if Pastor Elima can communicate with the families and get them to come with their goats, we’ll photograph whoever is there. Sound fair?"

I then, asked if we could have it where the goats were distributed when the staff goes in March. I mentioned asking the families to come to the church, and then, the goats could be distributed there & photographed. This was her answer:

"I have no idea how the goats are normally distributed to the families. Pastor Elima did not give us that information. But I’m not sure having them all come and get them when we’re there would be the appropriate thing to do. It’s usually not a good idea for Americans to be seen giving out anything so we try not to get involved when things are distributed. (And it’s never a good idea to draw attention to something being given out when you’re in Haiti . It’s actually a good way to start a riot.) We’d rather have the people actually receive things from their pastors even though they know that he is just passing along a gift from someone else. We do not want to take away from his role as the person people go to for help even though they know he’s actually receiving the help from us and that we’re actually receiving it from someone else. Does that make sense?"

I know it is hard for us to imagine how it must be in Haiti, and fully understand these issues. I do recommend that if you like to read, pick up the book I mentioned earlier. "On That Day Everyone Ate" is an eye-opening look into Haitian life, and how it contrasts with ours.

There are still Danda children in need of sponsors, and any of them can be included in the fundraiser for a goat. I hope that the wish for photos and possibly not getting them won't deter you from helping a family who has so little.