By Kara Boda
“Kara, I have a question for you,” my grandmother said. She was sitting across the table from me in her and my grandfather’s home. “Where did the goats go?”
I burst out laughing, and—as she watched confusion spread across my face—so did she.
“What goats?” I asked her with a smile. Considering the fact that they live in a downtown condo, and that decades have passed since my grandfather farmed for a living, I wasn’t sure where the conversation was headed.
“I bought goats through the Samaritan’s Purse Gift Catalog last Christmas,” my grandmother said. “I would love to share the impact of those gifts with your cousins.”
What a beautiful question. I didn’t know the answer right away, but I promised to investigate. And this is what I discovered:
My grandmother’s gift of goats helped save the lives of the struggling Chepang people in Nepal.
A severe drought had devastated their crops and food sources. They were starving. When Samaritan’s Purse first started working there through a local partner, it was a day-to-day relief program to make sure the people had enough emergency food packages to survive.
But we wanted to do more. The Chepang people needed a more sustainable, long-term source of food and income.
As a result, my grandmother and many other Canadians blessed 102 families with the gifts of two female goats, shelters for the animals, and training on how to raise them. In the case of a future drought, these hardy livestock will provide milk, meat, and offspring for extra income.
A grandmother named Uma was one of the recipients of these gifts.
She has two sons, but both have disappeared, and the 53-year-old woman is now the primary caregiver for her 10-year-old grandson. Without a source of income, Uma and the child’s futures had little hope.
The gift of goats gave the grandmother the support she needed to succeed.
“Thank you to all,” Uma said. “I’ll work hard to raise these goats, as I have the responsibility to care for my grandson. I’ll spend the profit from these goats on his education.”
How beautiful that a gift from one grandmother to her grandchildren can so radically transform the life of another woman and her grandchild.
So, where did the goats go?
The gifts were sent to Nepal, where they gave hurting people the hope of a future without starvation and malnutrition. And they blessed a grandmother and her grandchildren in North America during the Christmas season, too.
Please give through our Gift Catalog this Christmas season-you will bless your loved ones, whether it is a grandchild, parent, spouse, or friend. And you’ll bless someone in need, too.
More than a billion people worldwide are suffering from chronic malnutrition. Through your gifts, Samaritan’s Purse is providing lasting solutions through hands-on farming training, home garden projects, and practical education about nutrition, as well as desperately-needed food staples for hungry families in emergency situations.