The first InKind goat classes in Wozye ended on Wednesday! The classes ran from 8-2 Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week. Corey hired a woman from the village to make juice and bread for everyone for breakfast and provided a little money ($2.00 US) for lunch. The kids and I walked down to the classes on Monday morning to see how it was going. The class that was planned for 20 people had quickly grown to 45 people coming to learn about goat herding, goat pens, appropriate nutrition, biology, breeding, money management, and stewardship. A local pastor and veterinarian, Jacobsen, taught the classes with great enthusiasm and love for the people there. He taught that a good goat herder is witnessed when the animals come when they are called as they are well cared for and fed. There was a long discussion with various opinions about how to tell if a goat is pregnant. One man suggested that you cover the goats nose, cutting off the air supply, and see if it urinates. When they tried this on one of the goats at the class- indeed it did- urinate that is on the dirt floor of the classroom.
Corey will make the trip into Les Cayes on Friday with Jacobsen to buy the first Dominican goat for the project. We are hoping to distribute goats to the first ten families by the the end of December. They will be able to crossbreed their three female goats with InKind's Dominican goat making for a stronger breed.
The excitement for the classes, the possibility of development is palpable. Our neighbor expressed over and over again to me what a "beautiful thing, beautiful thing" this is. We're excited too for some clear forward motion and the opportunity to help a little tiny village who seems to have been lost in this little tiny country.
I was able to bring the news of the Tejas fundraiser for InKind in Colorado Springs and the news of all of you who are supporting this project and us in so many ways. People here are thrilled to know they haven't been forgotten. I can't thank everyone enough for your incredible support.
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