Goat

Goats have been called the poor man's cow. They are inquisitive, friendly, and love to play! A gift of dairy goat is particularly practical for ethnic minority families in remote Western China who live in rocky, mountainous areas and own little land. Goats thrive in the extreme climates of these regions.

A dairy goat can provide families with up to four litres of nutritious milk each day for the children and to sell. Families are taught to keep their goats in pens to limit grazing and damage to the environment, and to collect the manure as fertilizer to nourish their poor, dry land.

Goats often have twins every year, and together with income from the extra milk, Heifer families can start a small herd that earns enough for food, health care, and school.

Under the Running Horse Mountain

The rugged Tibetan Plateau often strikes up such romantic images such as those on the Running Horse Mountain described in the famous "Kang Ding Love Song".

But for Jiang Shi Hua and his family of five who live under the shadow of this mountain in Kang Ding, life was too harsh for romance. The annual income per person in his family dropped to only 300 yuan when the wool factory where Jiang used to work closed. He could no longer afford school for his three teenage daughters. The eldest had to leave home to earn money.

When Jiang and his wife received three goats - two females and one buck - from Heifer China, they worried that the goats were too thin. It was all smiles for the Jiangs when the goats began to give four litres of milk each day. The Jiang girls will be going back to school very soon!

"I am sure I will pass on two kids in a couple years because many poor farmers are waiting." Jiang said confidently. "We want to express our most sincere thanks to those who gave us the goats. We want to share some potatoes and bacon with them!"

Give a goat so families like Jiang and his girls can have a brighter future!