Investing in a child’s education is a huge endeavor.
Investing in a child’s health is another huge endeavor.
Investing in children’s nutrition is still another big endeavor.
Add the three up and you have some big issues to tackle, all vitally important and all necessary for the proper development of a child, no matter where in the world they live. It can appear overwhelming to face on these three giants, but AFCA is doing just that, with the help of some chickens.
Yes, chickens!
With two coops built and fully functioning in Zimbabwe, these laying chickens are addressing various needs faced by children infected and/or affected by AIDS. You see, some children walk 1-2 hours per day to get to school and doing this on an empty stomach is not only exhausting and draining, but it is defeating. Children stop attending school because they are too hungry to concentrate and with that, the dream of leaving poverty behind is gone. They know that education is important and that without it, they will remain in the same situation they find themselves in now.
With the help of the 1800 laying hens, 325 children are eating a boiled egg 3 times a week and another 629 children are eating eggs twice a week. Incredibly, this addition of fat and protein keeps the kids in school and they look forward to receiving their eggs on the appointed days. Along with eggs, they receive bread, as well, filling their bellies for the day ahead. This seems like a small thing to some, I am sure, but it is a huge thing for these children!
Six orphanages in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe each receive 150 eggs per week, providing eggs for all their children. Again, we’ve seen their health improve, as well as their ability to concentrate. It is so neat to know that an investment into a sustainable project like a chicken coop can make such a difference in the lives of others!
Other good news for you – the eggs that are given away are just HALF of what is produced! The other half are sold to individuals and restaurants and half those funds are used to maintain the hen houses. The other half pays for half the salaries of the staff at an orphanage. Incredible! Egg sales pay salaries in Zimbabwe. Half, half, half…I love all those halves end up making a bunch of wholes!
When the layers have done their job and are no longer able to lay eggs, half are sold as meat and half are given to orphanages to provide a different protein for the kiddos. And, we begin the cycle again.
Would you like to be part of a project that provides sustainable food solutions to children who have been affected by the ravages of AIDS? If you do, why not participate in #PassMyPlate? You can register by clicking here. Join this educational campaign and eat on a $1.90 per day for one day or for one week. Donate the balance of what you normally would have spent during that time period to AFCA and we’ll turn your dollars into livestock, seeds and hope for our kiddos. Why $1.90? Because that is what the World Bank has said is what people living in absolute poverty live on per day. Per DAY! Rent, food, medicine, school fees, etc all must come out of that $1.90.
Join us! Eat simply for a week so kids can eat well for a lifetime. Be part of the #PassMyPlate challenge, either by forming or joining a team or by doing it as an individual!