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| Project in Focus Raising Goats  Latifa and Saida, residents of Leya in White Nile have been involved in a FAR-supported women’s group for five years. The most recent project for the women has been raising goats. The group is made up of ten women who applied for a loan through FAR’s micro-credit programme. They used the money to buy goats, which were divided among the women and are being cared for by at their homes. The goats supply the women with enough fresh milk each day to provide milk for their families to drink, and to sell a surplus of two litres. Each litre of milk sells for one Sudanese Guinea (the equivalent of about 50 cents). Some of the money earned is kept by the women for their own use, while a portion is used to repay the group loan. Each woman must set aside the equivalent of five dollars a week to pay back the loan. Latifa, one of the group’s leaders earns enough income from selling milk to pay for much of her family’s daily food. Since getting involved with FAR five years ago and studying small scale business and accounting in FAR workshops, she has become quite the business woman. In addition to raising money by selling milk each day, Latifa is also "fatting” a goat to sell for the upcoming Eid celebration, which will yield an excellent price. By keeping one goat aside, she will be able to earn a large sum of money at once. Latifa plans to use the profit from the sale to pay for her son’s university fees. The goat initiative has had excellent returns for the women’s group and is continuing to produce income. Already, a second generation of goats has been born. As the goats multiply so do the women’s income and confidence. "Before I was part of this group”, Latifa said, "I did not know how to do much. Now I am raising goats”. The women’s group has also increased a sense of community in Leya.  "Before the women’s group was active, we did not see each other often, but now we see each other daily. We are together in everything, in sorrow, in everything. We are like sisters. Even though we come from different tribes, we don’t feel these differences.” Latifa and her sisters in Leya are improving their community by working together. In providing for their families needs, the members of the women’s group are offering more than food and education. They are a living example of how communities can change and grow. FAR currently runs micro-credit programmes in White Nile and Khartoum State and is actively looking for funding to ensure these programmes continue. |
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