Gift of a Goat

Gift of a goat brings hope of economic independence

Goats are a cultural tradition

October 28, 2009 - In Plan Canada’s Toronto offices, Ndungu Kahihu is many miles and many years from his childhood in Kenya. But when he’s promoting the purchase of a goat through Plan’s Gifts of Hope program, he’s advocating a cultural tradition that was central to his African roots for generations.
“Goats have been a part of African communities for thousands of years,” said Kahihu, Director, Technical Policy and Advocacy for Plan Canada. “They wander into the philosophies, beliefs and artistic expressions of different peoples across the continent like no other animal.”
“When I was growing up in Kenya, before I started going to school, I used to help my grandfather take care of the goats,” Kahihu said. “Tending to goats was very frustrating... If you are distracted for even a minute, you will find the goats have taken off and are feeding on a neighbour’s crops.”
Like many of his peers, Kahihu’s grandfather valued cows and looked down on goats as not worth bragging about. “But even he would us not to laugh at a man so poor that all he owned was a goat. If the gods will it, he would tell us, the poor man’s goat will one day become a cow,” Kahihu said.
The gift of a goat to a family through Plan Canada’s Gifts of Hope program brings the hope of economic independence, especially for women and children. ‘Most ethnic communities in Africa are traditionally patriarchal with assets such as cattle and land owned and controlled by the male head of the household. But many of these communities have long allowed women and children to own goats,” said Kahihu.
“In Plan’s work with communities today, we encourage women to leverage the opportunity in this tradition by helping them to convert the gift of a single goat into a small herd or a milk-selling business, thus boosting their income. The women will use the money to provide for their children’s health and education which is a pretty good result from a pretty thoughtful birthday gift to a member of your family.”

Buy a goat through Plan Canada’s Gifts of Hope