Getting their goat – generation after generation
Living in New Zealand (and other similar countries, I’m sure) it’s easy to get caught up in wanting more or believing that we don’t have enough (money, stuff, whatever). When I catch myself thinking “If only I were rich …” I try to remember that I earn more per hour than many people on this planet earn in a week, month or even year. And no, I don’t see myself as one of the wealthy — a new car is out of reach, the house still needs carpeting and curtains. In Ya’an province, China, the average income was less than US$40 per year before Heifer did something about it.
One goat ended up helping an entire community break the cycle of poverty. Watch Heifer’s online Flash movie about the twelve generations of goats which raised average incomes from less than $40 to more than $300 or $400 in some cases, allowing parents to send children to school, elderly people to support themselves and everyone to gain some measure of independence.