Happy Mother's Day!

We love our Mothers! 
We were invited into their homes and warmed by their smiles.  They shared their experiences, their challenges and dreams with us.  Like every mother, they want their children to be healthy and worry over them when they were sick.  They want their children to be educated and have a better life.  They work hard everyday doing whatever it takes to provide for them.  We are so honored to have met, and be able to serve these wonderful ladies.  Their strength, courage, determination, and joy despite hardship are nothing short of amazing.

Meet three of our mothers:  Elizabeth, Bernadetha, and Agricola. 

After a long drive over bumpy dirt roads, through brush and a few sparse trees we arrive at a home and meet Elizabeth Boay.  She is the mother of Elibriliki (6) and Godlisn (4) with another on the way.  She gives us the tour of her property.  She has a few chickens which provide eggs and the goat provided by FFHC is tied to a tree.  She unties it and brings it over to show it off.  Before receiving a goat she explains there was not enough food to feed the children and she had to rely on her neighbors to share what little they had.  Now the goats provide nutritious milk for the family and the children are healthier.  She uses the manure from the goats as fertilizer and her crops are doing better.  Through the goat program she has also been connected with other recipient families lessening her isolation. 




Bernadetha Emmanual, is the mother of three beautiful girls:  Magdelena (13), Filmina (8), and Dorthy (5).  When we visited her home Bernadetha welcomed us and showed us around.  When asked about the large flat stone in front of her home she gave a demonstration.  This how she grinds flour.  One stone in hand crushes the millet seeds into a fine powder.  We try, it is hard work in the hot sun.  The local pastor traveling with us whispers that she is really in a rough spot.  Her husband abandoned the family leaving her to provide for the girls.  Some men from the village are helping her build a shed for her goat today.  It is a prized possession that has the power to change her circumstances.  To protect it from thieves and roaming hyenas she has kept it inside with the family.  The next day we see Bernadetha again.  She has come to our community meeting learning about upcoming trainings and planning for the future of the project in her village.  Though visibly tired, she listens intently.  After the meeting, she and the others walk home.  

We were greeted with a beautiful smile as we arrived at the house of Agricola and Raphaeli.  Agricola bounced and swayed with 2 year old Bennedict while Domiano (7) and Eriliana (10) clung to her skirts. Their home being too small to accommodate visitors inside, Agricola and her husband brought out their only seats, small wooden stools, for us while they stood.  When they get enough money they have hopes of expanding their home, Agricola is expecting their fourth any day.  When asked what life was like before they got goats they simply responded that life was hard.  They had never had milk in their life but they have already seen how healthy and strong the children are getting.  Their eyes and smiles are brighter.  They tell us Eriliana is doing well in school but they are worried about having enough money to pay the fees for her to continue her education.  As their herd grows and they will able to sell some of the offspring and will have enough to make their dreams come true.