With a gift of goats, Karla's family in Peru has begun to raise steadily grow their heard and earn a dependable income.

Goats Bring Hope to Romania

For seven year-old Maria, the gift of gentle goats helped build a bright and prosperous future.

Before Heifer International began its project in Maria’s home of Nemsa, Romania, her parents simply couldn’t earn enough income to provide for her, her brother and sister, and her elderly grandmother.

But thanks to Heifer’s unique model that combines the gifts of livestock and training, Maria’s family was given hope for the future.

Maria’s family, along with many other families in the Nemsa village, became participants in a special Heifer dairy goat project made possible with donations from Heifer International supporters.

You can help us serve even more children like Maria by making an online donation today.

In Maria’s community, everyone took part in important training sessions on animal husbandry, how to build a shelter, veterinary skills and even sustainable farming techniques.

And once Maria’s family received their goats, their lives started improving right away.

The family’s goats provide enough milk to keep the children healthy and strong. Maria’s father has learned how to use the goat’s manure as a rich, organic fertilizer. Now, their farm is much more productive – and they even have enough income to make some much-needed improvements to their home. So you see that goats can make a truly wonderful gift for families struggling to overcome poverty. Their adaptable nature makes it easy to adjust to harsh, mountain climates. They can eat just about anything, and they are even gentle enough to interact with young children, just like Maria.

Other ways your gift of Goats is benefitting children all over the world:

In China:
Yonglimu was born to a poor farming family, deep in the mountains of China’s Yunan Provence. Because of an early childhood illness, Yonglimu lost her ability to hear. Before Heifer Internaitonal, she spent each day lonely with no way of learning to read or speak. Then, with the gift of six goats to her family, something amazing happened: Yonglimu came to life! Her parents realized that learning the skill of raising goats was the perfect fit for this gentle girl. The gift of goats brought Yonglimu a new, sustainable life.

In Peru:
Karla Cueva is growing up in El Morante, Peru. However, due to harsh landscapes and farming challenges, there was never enough money for food for everyone. Quite often, Karla and her siblings were sick. However, with the gift of goats, Karla’s family began to steadily grow their herd and earn dependable income.

In Tanzania:
Little Petronela was very young when her parents died and she went to live with her grandmother. Thankfully, Petronela’s grandmother had just received a gift of goats from Heifer International. Petranela has had milk to drink to help her grow up happy and healthy.

In Kosovo:
Hamdi Hysa lives with his parents and siblings in the village of Stagova, Kosovo. While Hamdi’s father works as a school teacher, his meager income is often not enough to provide basic essentials like food. The gift of healthy Alpine goats now allows them to have fresh milk, cheese and yogurt every single day.

Please, help give children like Maria, Yonglimu, Karla, Petronela and Hamdi brighter futures by supporting Heifer International’s 2010 Kids to Kids Campaign today.