A gift of a goat empowers African women

The URF goats project was started last year in May by a group of volunteers and 54 students received goats. The aim of the project is to create a self-sustaining community.

In November 2014 a volunteer from Holland Jaqueline reached out to family and friends and raised an amount enough to buy 35 goats. The goats were given to women in the URF Women Empowerment program. Each donor chose a name for their goat. The 35 women received the goats with the agreement that the first baby goat must be passed on to another woman in the program.

 

Today 20 baby goats have been born since November, 2014. Eight of these baby goats have given to women whose goats died as replacement. Twelve others have been passed on to other women in the program.

Because of the success of the project, Jacqueline did another fundraiser and this time 43 donors came forward to give a gift of a goat to Ugandan women.  In 2015, 43 women received goats. The project is growing very fast.

Jacqueline says she feels satisfied and grateful to see that, besides the hustle African women have to endure and end up with nothing to call their own at home, they finally have got something to call their own at least.

We hope that after a year, every woman in the program will at least have a goat at home. The URF women empowerment program is made up of over 100 women. URF runs several projects like village banking for women and different empowerment programs.

For more pictures click https://www.flickr.com/photos/ugandaruralfund/