Bracelets for Goats

One of my lovely friends on Twitter said, "Thanks, my goat has enough bling" when I posted this title in Twitter. Very funny.

I was asked by our mission team to make some bracelets and necklaces for the missionaries in Kenya as a "thank you" to them when they travel this month. As I was working on the bracelets I had a thought - why not sell these to raise money for goats in Africa? 

Last year was the first year our church went to Kenya, and a few of the team members came home with a mission to bring goats to families in Africa. I asked the leader to give me some information to share with you all and this is what she shared:

Why Goats?

Goats can withstand the dry weather in Africa and require very little water

How much does a goat cost?

$15 and they recommend 5 per family to start for multiplication purposes.

About the goats:

By purchasing a goat for a family in Kenya we are helping to provide for their children and themselves. This gift will bring hope to an HIV positive mother who will feed her baby the goat milk and not pass the virus through the breast milk. Offspring from the goat will provide an income to be used for food, clothing, shoes and schooling. A goat gives the family something to be proud of, provides ownership and promotes self worth.

Massai Medical Clinic - Ewaso Ngiro

Ewaso Ngiro is located about 3 hours from Nairobi. The mission team stayed at this location when we went to the bush in October 2009. The clinic is overseen on a daily basis by John Sankok, the primary Massai administrator. We communicate with John monthly to let him know how much money is being sent to CMF for the goats.

How do the families get the goats?

John withdraws the funds for the goats and arranges for a social worker to buy and deliver the goats. With this arrangement, the social worker can meet with those in need and educate them in the areas of hygeine, HIV prevention, nutrition and evaluate any medical problems. He prays with them and encourages them to seek the Lord. The social worker is an employee at the clinic.

This is where you and I come in. I'm selling the bracelets for the month of September with a challenge in mind. For the month of September, every bracelet sold will mean one goat is going to Africa. The challenge is to see how many goats we can provide to the people in Kenya. At the end of the month I'll let you know how we did with the challenge and how many goats we provided for the families there.

About the bracelets: they come in two colors (black or brown) and are leather. They are adjustable from 7-8" and are unisex. These fit both men and women. They come with a stamped brass rectangle charm. You can get them as shown with a cross to remind you to pray for the people in Kenya or with another shape, initial, short word, monogram, etc. The bracelet sells for $35, $15 of which goes to buy the goat and the remainder for materials & time. You can get it here.

I want to be completely transparent in the price of the goats. I don't want you to think one way or the other (either that goats are cheap and I'm making a bunch of money on this and I also don't want you to think that 100% is going to purchase a goat).

Please feel free to Tweet this, post it on Facebook, blog about it - whatever. I can't wait to see how many goats we can provide for these sweet families. Also, please pray for our team who is going back to Africa the last 2 weeks of September.