VMS Director Sue-Anne named one of 'South Africa's Extraordinary Women of 2013!'

Great News for our own Sue-Anne Cook, Director of Vhutshilo Mountain School who has been named one of 'South Africa's Extraordinary Women of 2013!' The Mail and Guardian, the largest on-line and print newspaper in South Africa recently published the 2013 Book of South African Women, celebrating women across diverse fields doing remarkable things.

The attached video highlights a few of these extraordinary women. Short on time? Go directly to minute 2:42 to view what they are saying about VMS Director Sue-Anne.

We are so happy and excited for our dear friend!

Goat Project Continued...

Through ‘trial and error’ we soon learned more about goat farming than we wished to know:

·        Get that fence up around your vegetable garden or the goats will make short work of those valuable vegetables.

·        Keep the goats penned and away from the bushes surrounding your school!

·        Goat’s milk does NOT have to be pasteurized but cleanliness when milking is paramount!

·        Milk must be sieved in order to catch stray dirt, hair  etc which could be catastrophic to HIV+ women .

·        Stud goats cannot service their own Kids so must be sold and new ones purchased.

·        Rams can be nasty! Our ‘Bella’ wouldn’t ‘kid’ and had to be sold.

·        Drought forced VMS to purchase grass/lucerne and pellets for winter feed.

·        Effort to rent the land in front of the school for 2 paddocks needed for grass growing has once again been stymied. The chief (who owns the land) has died and the new chief has once again lost the VMS ‘request’ paperwork. ARGH!

·        Keep the goats off of the newly cemented school addition floors.

·        Our beloved, curious young kid ate a plastic bag…the results were not good.

·        Once the children have named a new Kid, properly prepare them for the day when the goat must leave or tears will abound!

BUT…the good news far outweighs the bad and we happily report:

·        Goat’s milk is far more nutritious than cow’s milk.

·        Daily, VMS children enjoy fresh goat’s milk with their “morning porridge”.

·        Owning a goat means that an HIV+ mother no longer has to purchase expensive tinned milk for her baby.

·        The children LOVE the goats and rush to greet them upon the children’s arrival at school. They are allowed to play with the goats for a short time each day when the goats are let out of their pens.

·        Currently VMS has 9 female ewes: 7 Kids and 2 grown.

·        When a female becomes pregnant she is gifted to a needy family (usually a HIV+ Caregiver) to help feed and sustain the family. In return, the first female baby goat must be given to another needy family. The male is returned to VMS for stud purposes.

·        Susie has plans to visit a project in Sibasa to learn the art of cheese making.

·        During the second week of September VMS will be hosting a goat-farming workshop for new goat owners.

All of this is possible because of caring, concerned individuals like Fernando and yourselves. Please contact us if you’d like to play a critical role in helping to sustain this project. We are in desperate need of a RAM and for R1532 ($150 USD) we’ll gladly name him after YOU!
 

 

Goat Project Continues to Grow

It all started back in 2011 when the seed for a ‘Goat Project’ was planted. HFL loved the idea but the work was to fall on Sue-Anne and the rest of the VMS staff who were already overburdened with projects. Everyone was hesitant. But what was so difficult? You buy 2 goats and give away the newborn Kid, right? WRONG! As we discovered in the past, with every well thought out project there is much work to be done!

Our HFL goal was and continues to be "to furnish needy families with goats which will provide them with much needed daily nutrition." A goat is an important source of protein and nutrition with the likelihood of providing several quarts of milk a day that would nourish hungry children.  Additionally, we hope that eventually industrious families will use the extra milk to make cheese and other milk products, to fertilize their gardens with goat manure and/or sell excess milk as a means to earning money. 

The program began abruptly when VMS friend Celia unexpectedly decided to move to Senegal and offered VMS her 5 milk goats for a significantly reduced price. In a panic but with the encouragement and assistance of HFL, VMS built a  "hookie" and purchased basic meds and equipment, fencing and enclosures, prepared for dipping and de-warming etc. HFL gladly stepped in to assist VMS with this immediate request for funds. 

Three of the goats went to Caregivers who eventually used the goat’s milk to nourish their HIV/AIDS affected children. Susie and Taki did site visits to check on the 3 goats at Caregiver’s homes. Grazing was poor during the winter months and Susie found herself dropping off bundles of avocado leaves twice a week. The VMS goats decimated the shrubs and plantings surrounding the school but they continued to bring joy to our preschoolers. Each morning the children would stand at the fence of their enclosure and question the goats, “How did you sleep?” “Are you well?” “What have you eaten?”

So the project was off to a perfect start, right? WRONG.  More on the pitfalls of angry rams and plastic bag-eating goats in our next blog!

Happy Birthday to HFL's Youngest Supporter!

Last year, in celebration of Anaia’ Miller’s first birthday and in lieu of birthday gifts, her family and friends chose to have donations sent to HFL via Charity Birthday  (see HFL blog 9-18-12). This generosity enabled us to put The ‘Brenda Book’ , a colorfully illustrated picture book with a story and a message about the misconceptions of HIV and/or AIDS, into several classrooms in the Limpopo Province. The book addresses the stigma of living with HIV and the importance of the ARV medication regime to “keep the dragon sleeping” and remain healthy. (see HFL blog 10-28-12)

Beyond the significance of this book and the act itself, we appreciate the opportunity that the Millers have given their young daughter to be a true ‘Giver’. We are privileged to count the Millers among our HFL friends and are especially pleased to give a ‘Shout Out’ to Anaia Miller, our youngest HFL follower.

Happy 2^nd Birthday, Anaia!