Ignite Your Faith Ministries has had a Goat Program from nearly the very beginning. The Goat Program serves three purposes, the first two of which are very practical and the third is leaning more toward the spiritual. Let’s have a look at how this program works.
The IYFM team visits people in the village on a regular basis. When they find a family that would be a good match for the goat program they tell them about the program. Once informed about the program, the families in the village of St Christophe area may apply to receive a pair of goats. If selected, the family will be given two female goats per family. The females will be bred by male goats in the area as they are out feeding near the family’s home. The family then has 1 year to bring back one goat to the mission and that goat gets passed on to another family.
Purpose one, to help a family become more financial self-sufficient. If the family takes good care of their goats and is successful at breeding them they will eventually have some goats milk and meat to sell or trade. This small boost in family income can be life changing for many people in St Christophe, Haiti.
Purpose two, to help the family with better nutrition. Once a mother goat has a baby the family can sell some of the milk and keep some of it for their own use. This allows parents to have some protein for their children even when times are tough. Later on, if they are able to raise a baby or two they can also add goat meat to their meals.
The last purpose is that we build a friendship and a trust between the mission and the family, this gives us a chance to tell them how much God loves them and opens the door for the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts and lives.
Next week our visiting group from Bishop Luers High School coming from Ft Wayne, IN will be helping us purchase a few more sets of goats for families to start the process. We have several families on a waiting list hoping they will get a pair of goats soon.
At the time of this story being posted, it has been brought to my attention that the families need training on how to milk the goats and handle the goat milk. Having grown up on a goat dairy myself, I would LOVE to go down and teach the people how to do this. Sadly, I don’t currently have the funds to do so. Perhaps someone out there, who is reading this story has the skills and would like to visit? Would love to have you pray for this need to be met in the very near future, so the families in this program can get the most out of this blessing and we can be assured that the money donated is being used to the fullest potential.
We have a page set up for this point of interest on the website at https://www.igniteyourfaithministries.org/goat-program please drop by and have a look. This page will be updated from time to time with new stories, photos and information. You can donate directly to this part of the ministry by following a link on the page or by sending a check with a note “Goat Program” to
IYFM P.O Box 452, Allendale, MI 49401.
