Written by Ronda Porter-Altema
I own a goat! The middle class suburban/sometimes urban girl owns a goat (or at least I did – keep reading to find out what happened). Now I know everyone that knows me is laughing a bit at this. But I have to say it is a huge honor and an amazing story as to how I acquired my first goat.
A few months ago a man from the community that we are working with in Haiti approached my husband and I for a job. He explained that he had a degree in agronomy but no one will give him a job here. On top of that he did not want to move back to the big city just to look for a job. So we took our chances and decided to invest a bit of money in him to do some work for SoudeHaiti. We gave him money to buy supplies and start growing fruit and vegetable plants that would benefit the community.
My husband and I arrived to his home on our June trip to find a small but wonderfully taken care of nursery of several small fruit trees getting ready to plant in the community. We were so happy to see what he had done with this small job that we have asked him to continue this work that will start our first major project teaching the community how to use these plants to help feed their families and sell extra for small businesses.
As a result of us giving this man a job his wife and himself gave me a goat as a token of appreciation for the job. This is why I am so honored to have this goat! Although it is just the beginning, I am so happy that SoudeHaiti is already having a positive impact on this community!
Now I said I DID have a goat. Since I am not in Haiti full time I could not keep and raise this goat. So I decided to have it used to provide food for our workers who helped build the first phase of the community center. So I was able to spread a bit more help to the community by providing food for a few days to some more community members!
Now, if you are wondering how you can help continue building this community in Fon Pou, Haiti, think about a monetary donation. If you are an adventurer and want to see for yourself what we are doing contact us! We are in the works of setting up our first volunteer trip for next March 2016.
Want to know more about this particular project, look for the next blog as this will be the topic of discussion! Thank you for your support and please help us spread the word!
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