Buy a Goat for a Family in Guatemala

Save the Children's goat-raising center in Guatemala offers milk as a source of protein for undernourished children living in rural communities. Nearly half of all children under age 5 in Guatemala are chronically malnourished. In Quiche, a rural mountainous area about 165 kilometers outside of Guatemala City where Isabella lives, the number of chronically malnourished children climbs to more than 72 percent of under 5 children. One-year-olds are especially vulnerable once they stop breastfeeding and no longer get enough of the right proteins and nutrients in their daily diet.

"Healthy foods fuel the growth of a child's brain and body in their early years. Without them, children suffer life-long consequences — their growth is stunted, they are more susceptible to illness, they struggle to keep up and pay attention in school," said Carlos Carrazana, chief operating officer of Save the Children. "But when we reach children early on, we can change their future, and make sure they have a chance to reach their full potential."

Empowering Families to Tackle Child Hunger in Guatemala

Save the Children provides child hunger programs to families in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, an under-resourced area that is home to the country's ethnic minority community and where a high percentage of children are malnourished. In addition to the goat milk program, Save the Children counsels pregnant women, mothers and caretakers on how to breastfeed, and on how to help their kids be healthier and eat a better diet. Working with community volunteers and health workers, Save the Children reaches mothers through classes, home and health clinic visits, community fairs, community theater events and soccer tournaments.

Save the Children also advises families on how to grow more nutritious food, such as beans, corn, potatoes and vegetables, and how to raise animals for eggs, goat milk and meat. Families also learn how to increase their income through better marketing approaches and new business opportunities like horticulture and animal husbandry, which helps pay for food and other needs for their children.

"Look at beautiful Isabella today. She is a happy, healthier child," added Ronaldo. "I want her story of a life free from hunger to be the story of every Guatemalan child. That's a goal worth pursuing." 

Doña Fidelia Brito lives in Guatemala's Highlands, in a small rural village. A successful experience with Save the Children's goat program has inspired Doña Fidelia to fight chronic malnutrition in her community.

In 2008 Doña Fidelia and her husband Leonel Cruz took their only child Felipe Josué to a growth monitoring event. They worried about his low weight and looked for ways to help provide him with moer nutritious food. With guidance from the local health worker, they registered for Save the Children' goat raising program in order to produce goat milk at home for Felipe Josué.

After just a few months began to see a remarkable improvement in Felipe Josué's growth. When the goat had two kids, they kept them and gave the mother to another family. Later on, Doña Fidelia's own health improved by drinking goat milk, with no more hair loss and the headaches she used to have.

Early in 2012 Doña Fidelia adopted two more goats. Through best practices in animal husbandry, she now has four adult goats, and more on the way as two are pregnant. Thanks to the training received in goat management she has reached a daily production of a half gallon a day which she distributes among the young children of her village.

Other mothers are following her example, like Doña Maria Magdalena Alvarez whose goat now produces 1/2 quart of milk per day, just enough for her two-year-old daughter Catarina.

Doña Fidelia's dream is coming true, and other goat-related benefits for home gardening (manure) and meat production represent further contributions to her isolated rural community food security.