Kids for Kids — the goat loan project

These bottles are different. Flaws and all, they're going to make an impact.

Published for Kankan on 10 October 2022

If you haven’t already heard, this October we are partnering with Kids for Kids for their Soap Appeal. We are selling our ‘Near Perfect’ forever bottles to raise money to provide families in Darfur with soap and tips for best hand washing practice. Medical care is out of reach for many rural villages, so access to soap is an integral step towards stopping the spread of Covid in this already vulnerable community.

KIDS FOR KIDS — WHO ARE THEY?

Kids for Kids is a British-based charity supporting families living in extreme poverty in Darfur, Sudan. Since 2001, they have been working alongside communities, empowering them to provide food, water and medical care for children and families alike

WHERE IS DARFUR?

Darfur is a region located in western Sudan. Landlocked in the centre of Africa, it extends from the Sahara Desert and reaches Sudan’s southern tip. This diverse strip of land — the size of France — has soaring mountains, sporadic patches of forest, and sandy dunes. In many places, it is arid and waterless and can only be inhabited alongside reservoirs.

HOW DO KIDS FOR KIDS HELP?

Western Sudan has seen decades of war and violence and many villages now suffer from starvation, crop failure and water scarcity. Kids for Kids is running multiple projects that aim to have long-term and lasting impacts which reduces poverty and negates the dire consequences of war.

Goat Loan

The charity’s main project is the Goat Loan — an initiative that lends a family six goats over a two-year period. These families, elected by their community and often headed by women, are unable to provide enough food for their children so the goat’s milk provides invaluable sustenance. Surplus milk is sold, and the money can then be spent on school fees, health care and access to other essential amenities.

Once the two-year period has passed, the flock of goats has grown significantly and can then provide the next family with the next herd of healthy goats and the cycle continues.

The Donkey Taxi

As well as goats, donkeys are loaned to villages as a form of transport. Roads and railways are few and far between in Darfur so walking and donkeys are the only means of transport. Donkeys are the local school bus, the crucial ambulance, the plough in long fields, and the taxi to visit family.

Water Pumps

It can take up to nine hours by foot to collect water due to the region’s dry climate — a solitary journey often made by young children — worsened by years of harsh drought. Hand-dug wells near the village rapidly dry in the 50 degree heat, so hand pumps are essential to maintain a reliable source of water for crops and livestock. Kids for Kids are installing pumps in each village to access the vast water beneath the dirt.

We are proud to be partnering with such an impactful charity while the world experiences this pandemic together.