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About
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Our MissionThe mission of Seeds of Hope Africa is to empower women by offering sustainable opportunities. Through these opportunities, we give mothers a chance to provide for and protect the lives of their children. Current ProjectsGoat Loans -Goat loans are another sustainable option and one aimed at providing protein and milk to women with severely malnourished children.In this project, two goats are loaned to a mother with the understanding that the first two offspring go to the next mother in line.The goats provide milk, protein, and a source of income as they grow and multiply as the cost of livestock has become increasingly prohibitive with the growth of large-scale livestock trading across Niger's borders.This project also involves the resident Peace Corps Volunteer and village leaders development of a proposal to acquire funding to initialize the project. Potential Future ProjectsPeanut Loans - We see the name of the game in development aid to be SUSTAINABILITY.The only way to do this is through well planned, community based projects.Communities must be involved from the initial planning stages to foster a sense of ownership and pride which, many times, will make or break the success of the project. The peanut loan project is a loan of seed to the women's group within a village which is often already an established group.Most villages have a "Kunjiya Mata" or "women's leader" who is the prominent contact and leader in organizing and decision making within the group.The PCV, Peace Corps Volunteer, meets with the Kunjiya Mata and group to create a proposal in which the women receive sacks of peanuts to be divided amongst them for planting.Following the planting season, the loaned seed is then returned to be given to a new group for seed. This project provides the women with seed as well as an income generation opportunity in the processing of the harvested peanuts.The majority of these women would not be able to afford the initial seed purchase. These women are then able to set aside a portion of their harvest to use as seed in the next planting season.Peanuts offer an important source of protein as meat is often not an affordable option.Kwashiorkor, the swelling of children's bellies caused from fluid from the blood collecting in the stomach, and the most common and visible sign of malnutrition in Niger, is caused mainly from lack of protein. |
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© 2008 Seeds of Hope Africa |
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