In Gaza, Gardens & Goats+ Really Matter in this time of worldwide food emergency
By Jen Doyle
Your support has made it possible to cultivate a remarkable group of beneficiaries! I am very excited to share some updates. As you know, this program was created to help Palestinian families meet some of their own basic food needs with tools and resources provided by RA and our partners.
Ahmed and his family of five live in Rafah, Gaza.
He works diligently to grow herbs, mainly parsley and mint, which he sells to support his family
Back in early February, Ahmed had a pregnant goat who gave birth to a healthy kid. Ahmed has a lot of experience raising animals and was super excited to tend to this little guy. Unfortunately, the mother goat passed away shortly after giving birth
The good news is that the kid survived and through this project, we were able to provide Ahmed with a new adult female or “nanny” goat!
Our team spoke to Ahmed when they delivered his new goat. "I was so sad when my first goat died. I felt so bad about this, but I was extremely happy when I saw you coming to my house with the new goat; now I have a goat, a kid, and two sheep. Thank you so much!"
This past March, some of the families requested more fodder (dried hay) to help feed their animals. Fodder prices increased significantly since the invasion of Ukraine in February creating a very real crisis in Gaza. Fortunately we were able to supply three months' worth of fodder for our beneficiaries!
It is challenging to obtain any consistent work in Gaza, so this practice of growing and selling herbs, vegetables, milk, eggs, cheese and meat creates income to help support these families. Being able to provide for the animals is a massive part of the success of this program that will generate more revenue and secure a sustainable future for these families.
Here is an update on Shireen, a mother whose story we've shared in the past. She was raising rabbits to help support her family but sadly needed to sell all of them. She was devastated, and we were able to step in back in December to get her new rabbits. Now more fodder helps feed her animals so that she could continue her small business. Thankfully, Shireen has been very successful with raising her rabbits! She breeds them on schedule and then sells them. When we asked Shireen about her experience with this project, she said, "I'm living my dream now. Raising rabbits and goats is one of my favorite things to do. I have excellent experience raising rabbits, and I like watching the babies grow up every day. I feel so lucky to be one of the beneficiaries."
Thanks to your generous donations, all four of our Palestinian NGO project partners have been able to provide food and livestock for at total of 32 families!
We want to double our number of beneficiaries in Gaza in the year ahead and continue to provide critical inputs like fodder or barn improvements, so please spread the word so this important project can grow. We appreciate your continued support!
