The Little Goat that Changed Everything

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. Lately they had 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.

Farming Systems Kenya, a church-based organization operating in the area, selected Ruth for a community development program sponsored by African American Self-Help Foundation. Ruth was given a milk goat. She received training -- both in how to manage the goat (very important with goats, who tend to have a mind of their own) and in how to expand her small subsistence garden. The organization also provided Ruth with a water pump for irrigation -- a priceless gi ft in such an arid land.

It has been one year now since the goat came. One goat has become seven, with two pregnancies each producing healthy triplets. The little goats are teaching the children to smile again. The latter are also thriving on the goats' 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 goats' 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".

This woman has 23 grandchildren living with her because all of their parents have died.

Over 12 million African children have been orphaned by AIDS. That means there are millions of grandmothers like Ruth - older women who suddenly find themselves responsible for their grandchildren, yet with no means to provide for them. Projects like this goat and garden venture sponsored by AASHF can transform despair into hope, and dependency into self-sufficiency.

As you can see in the life of our friend Ruth,
one little goat can change everything.

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