Give an Animal as a Gift
For Beatrice Biira and her family in Uganda, whose true story is told in the book Beatrices Goat, a goat provided nutritious milk and gave her family extra income that enabled Beatrice to go to school and allowed her family to build a new house with a tin roof. (Beatrice's Goat, Page McBrier and Lori Lohstoeter, Aladdin, 2004)
Hurricane Mitch slammed into Choluteca, Honduras leaving a trail of devastation. "Even before, life here was hard," says Doņa Pastora, but Mitch swept homes, belongings and animals away in seconds. The Heifer Project is rebuilding hope with a chicken project to provide an ongoing source of eggs. Watching her hens drink water from an old tire cut in half, Doņa Pastora says, "Receiving these chickens was like receiving credit. To be able to pay the loan back when I'm able is of great value." Soon, she'll "repay her credit" by giving some chicks to a neighbor, as Heifer requires. Heifer Project has an entire animal catalogue on its website: llamas, geese, camels. Its WILD program, Women in Livestock Development, can change much for women like Doņa Pastora. Learn more>
TurtleWill knows that nomads cannot survive without their animals who are killed by winter and drought. The nonprofit organization runs animal loan programs for the Tuareg and Wodaabe tribes of Niger and Mali. You can give them a cow for $250; a donkey, $50; a Sheep, $35; a goat, $25. Learn more>
Mercy Corps sells gifts of Camels, Pigs, Goat kits and bees. While you're shoppting at their site, you can also purchase a cookstove and educate a girl in the women's section.