Raising goats, raising hope
“I love my goats very much. I feed them everyday and spend my time with them after school and on the weekends,” says 7-year-old Thouan.
He lives with his family in the village of R-Lang near Sepone, where people live on farming and animal raising. Bountheung, 35, is Thouan’s father who says supporting his family of three kids, used to be a constant struggle.
“Our communities used slash and burn for growing rice. Cassava plantations, home gardens and animal raising are among projects families have taken on to earn a bigger income,” says village chief Thongdam Khamxayalang, 51-years-old.
What happens when the rice harvest isn’t enough to feed a family for a whole year?
“My family suffered when the harvest wasn’t enough. Our income was so low that we had to look for bamboo shoots to sell. On one occasion we got 40,000kip (US$5) for a bamboo shoot, a surprisingly big amount of money. I worry about my children’s education as I question my ability to support them,” says Bountheung.
“In 2012, World Vision Sepone’s Area Development Programme partnered with the government to begin agriculture activities to help communities overcome the lack of food and low family incomes. A goat raising project offered 180 goats to 71 families in five villages. World Vision invited facilitators from provincial animal raising units to provide technical skills training to people in the village. Veterinary materials were also provided for 54 village veterinarians in 27 villages,” says Chanthaphone Volasane, World Vision Transformation Development Assistant, on the food security project team.
Bountheung is among those who benefited from the training.
“I have been learning a lot about goats, from building them houses, vaccinations, care, nutrition and health risks. After receiving the training, I went around my village offering vaccines to people’s goats and shared with them some basic information on how to take care of their animals,” Bountheung says.
“In 2012, my family received 6 goats. In the past year alone we sold 10 goats for a total of 8,000,000kip (US$1,000), while still keeping 28. This very big income allows my family to live more comfortably with the ability to support my children with their education,” he added.
“I am very happy to have received those goats and the necessary training,” Bountheung shares.
“My dream is to become a teacher because we don’t have enough teachers in our school,” Thouan says.
“I want my children to have a bright future. I don’t want them to become like me, a man with a low education,” he added.
A brighter future for young Thouan!
