Programs » Survival Program
To donate a goat, camel, or chicken please scroll down to the "Donate" section below the pictures.
Goats and camels are a major source of survival for many East Pokot tribes due to their inability to farm on the land they live. Unfortunately, the land that many tribes live on has turned into sheer desert to the point of becoming unfarmable and additionally the Kenyan government has not given these tribes legal ownership over the land they live on, which makes farming even more difficult.
The goats and camels are used to help families survive the drought period. Due to scarcity of water, goats are used for their milk and gently pricked for their blood but unfortunately they can not provide throughout the entire drought and are finally slaughtered for their meat. Camels, on the other hand, are not slaughtered because they are able to provide milk throughout the entire drought.
With a purchase you will receive a certificate, which can be used as an acknowledgment of ownership. Once our volunteers in Kenya hear the good news about a new purchase, they will go to the auction market to buy the livestock and then travel to the outlying rural areas to distribute it to families in need. You will also receive a photo which will be of your purchased goat or camel and the family it was given to.
If there is enough food available for survival then the livestock is used for our peace program where a tribe receives the livestock and gives it to a rival tribe as a gift.
In addition to donating a goat or camel, for only USD $5.00 you may also donate a chicken to our orphans, poor single mothers and families who can not afford to buy a goat.
Donate
Buy a goat for its true cost, just USD $20, or a camel for USD $200, and help a family in desperate need. You may also donate a cow for USD $240 or a calf for USD $150 to our peace farm program.
Questions we have received about our Survival Program
I'm looking to change from buying materialistic gifts to gifts that make a difference. I have been looking into your survival program and I have heard a number of critiques about these types of campaigns such as the farm animals are not purchased or given to those in need. Are the animals purchased in the local to those who will receive it? Are those who recieve it given any training in regards to keeping the animal alive? And why are the cost of animals significantly lower than those through other programs?
The cost is much lower because we are completely honest about the true cost of all items, because we are volunteers buying with the locals and do not include fancy salaries into the amounts. There are plenty who will do so voluntarily as long as volunteers are not charged huge amounts in what has sadly become "charity business" in the past 22 years I have been doing this.
We feel that educating the public about true costs is part of our mission in educating not only the poor, but equally as important : educating the educated about the poor. If you would like to assure that the livestock you buy is going truly to the poor, I suggest you email with the various worldwide University and retired volunteers who will be flying out to help with this program and our famine feeds and orphanage and farm. They can freely tell you what they find and be a part of the wonderful gift you will be giving to. They can describe the process and need for your gift, first hand, and follow up during the months they are there and take photos.
You can later email with any future volunteers if you want continued follow up on those you help. As for paying experts to teach them, I laugh when I read this in fancy brochures. The poor are the experts with thousands of years of handed down knowledge and old men willing to help for free - they are everywhere - truly there is no need for these over paid so called experts.
I have yet to find these experts out in the far areas where the livestock is so needed, as there are no garbage cans to leaf through for leftovers, and if your livestock is stolen by a waring tribe or natural disaster, that is your only source of food if it is too dry for farming. If you would like to get in touch with our volunteers in Kenya please send an email to survival.program@ihfonline.org and we will forward their email addresses to you. Thank you so so much for caring enough to want to be sure you are really helping those who so need it rather than paying those who don't.
Sincerely,
Carol Sasaki
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