By Patricia Parker MBE | Founder
It is hard to imagine being hungry every day of your life, but this is what it is like to be a child in Darfur. The summer months are known as the 'hungry months'. This is when all surface water has dried up, men, women, children and animals are walking miles for every drop of water, and nothing is growing. If you have not collected enough grass earlier in the year, your animals starve too.
This is when you value your little goats most. Their milk is the only source of protein, mineral and vitamins for your children. Kids for Kids provides what has been called by the Governor of North Darfur "The best microfinance scheme ever" because we lend six goats to the poorest families in each of the villages we adopt so that the children have milk immediately. Their mothers can make yoghourt and as the little flock grows they have an income - often for the first time in their lives. After two years they pass 6 goats to another family in need, and so on, every two years.
Last year, thanks to you, we provided goats for four communities in North Darfur. This year we are hoping to be able to provide all our integrated projects to five villages. Can you help please? We also give fodder and seeds to villages where there has been the worst drought. Tragically, in some villages flash floods washed away people's valuable seeds. Without your help, they would face a bleak year. Kids for Kids keeps a fund to help families facing disaster. Each year fathers and the eldest sons leave home because they are another mouth to feed "If I stayed I would be eating what little there is instead of my poor children having it" said Abdullah who lives in one of the worst hit villages. "Thanks to Kids for Kids I can now stay at home in the hungry months and help look after my children until the rains come and we can work the fields again."
Kids for Kids' projects are enabling families to stay together instead of becoming refugees across the world, in search of a way to earn money to send home so their families will not starve. Our sustainable projects are helping over 374,000 people in 82 villages, but there are over 900 villages in Darfur. With your help, little by little, one family at a time, we are making a real difference. Thank you.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.