Here’s what we’re taking to Africa for the orphanage and the village
1) Donations for 115 goats. Our goal was 25. The stretch goal was 50. Never did we consider an outpouring of support like this !
2) 4 suitcases of clothes/games/dolls/medical supplies/school supplies
3) Individualized cards/letter/pictures for each of the children at the orphange. A big thanks to Judene and the staff/kids at the East Scarborough Boys and Girls club for taking on this project.
On Sunday as Dal and I were updating the spreadsheet of donations, we looked at each other dumbfounded by the support of everyone as well as the opportunity to make a tangible difference in people’s lives ! If you’re questioning how much of an impact a goat could have, read to the bottom of this post.
Here's the updated spreadsheet of donors and goat names (click to enlarge). If there are any errors, please email Dal (dalreen79@hotmail.com) or David (djp55@hotmail.com) so we can correct them. For those that haven't paid yet, we'll be sending gentle email reminders over the next couple of days. The easiest way to get the money to us is by email transfer to either of our email addresses.
Time for a little Q&A on the goat project
Q . How does a family qualify for a goat ?
A. The local gov't decides which families receive a goat. They know their population the best and know who is trying and who is deserving.
Q. What is the lifespan of a goat ?
A. 10-12 years according to goatworld.com (I googled this on Saturday night when someone asked me). http://www.goatworld.com/articles/goatsaspets/petgoats.shtml
Q. What do you two know about handling goats ?
A. Dave: I saw a goat at the zoo about 10 years ago and after 30 minutes of visualization techniques, I gallantly mustered the courage to pet it.
Dal: I use a fork when I typically eat mutton curry. Does that count ?
Q. Will the goat I donate be eaten for dinner ?
A. No. The program is really meant to provide a source of income to a needy family, so the goat must be sustained.
Q. How will you transport the goat back to the village ?
A. The Orphanage will rent a little pick-up truck and bring the goats to school. I'm riding in the back with the goats !
Q. You promised me a TELUS Goat critter for donating the goat at your party. Where’s my critter ?
A. Unfortunately the shipment of critters arrived at our place on Monday, however they are damn cute as you can see from the photo. We do feel terribly about the missing critters, so if you would like your critter, please drop by our place before we leave and we’ll be happy to give it you ! Any leftover critters (we have about 40 ..a big thanks to Michelle from TELUS) will be stuffed in suitcases for the kids. Note..we reserve the right to use them as a bribe to avoid a cavity search by Rwandan customs officials.
Where's My Goat ?
A colleague pointed me to http://www.wheresmygoat.ca/ . It’s a documentary created by Christopher Richardson. He’s donates goats on behalf of clients rather than giving traditional swag, but when some of his clients question the existence of their goat and whether ethical gifts have the impact Christopher hopes, he decides to travel to Zambia to track down a client's goat and discover for himself if he is being innovative or naïve. Are ethical gifts the positive developing world life-changers they are advertised to be?
I traded emails with Christopher and he let me know that the film has its world television premiere Tuesday, September 28, at 9pm EST on the documentary channel. It is a freeview broadcast - meaning that anyone with a digital Cable box or a satellite box will be able to see the show regardless of whether they have a subscription to the documentary channel.
cheers,
David
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