Disclaimer: I know this blog post is about 2 months late, but I needed to add pictures so you all could see the kids I bought!
You're probably thinking I literally bought three children based on the title of this blog post… but I didn't. I bought 3 goats whilst I was in Rwanda! Meet June, Obadiah and Beaut. They are the latest addition to team Lighthouse Mosaic!
June (left photo), Obadiah and Beaut
What started off as a joke when I first got to Rwanda turned in to me actually buying some goats. You see, I am from the city so seeing goats on the side of the road whilst walking to school every morning is not something I am used to. So naturally I would try and pet the goats every morning as we walked past. (In case you were wondering, the goats didn't like me and would run away from me every time.)
Our translator, Moses, thought it was so funny that I was excited to see goats every day. Apparently Mzungus (white people) don't normally get excited to see goats. But not me! They always put a smile on my face. I think it's because it reminds me of my late great grandmother, Zella Warner. She had goats on her farm in Utica, Ohio, the last time I was out there to visit when I was back in high school.
So back to me buying goats… Moses asked around about prices for goats and where I could purchase them. The going price was anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000 Rwandan francs. AND Moses said he would keep the goats after we left Rwanda in a few weeks. He said he would like to raise them and hopefully have more baby goats that he can sell one day to make money for his family. My heart and mind were instantly made up — I HAD to buy not just one but TWO goats.
So where do you buy goats in Rwanda!? The market! The market is only open on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. This week has been a long week of waiting patiently to go to the market to buy the goats, but the day finally arrived. My team and I set out to make the long trek to the market in search of our future kids (young goats are known as "kids").
Once we got to the market, Moses talked to the sellers and got them knock down their asking price for the kids. I ended up buying 2 goats at first (Obadiah and June) for 24,000 francs. Then Moses said that they would sell us one more goat for another 12,000 francs. So I figured why not?! And that's how Beaut came in to the picture.
So now we have 3 kids living with us! Moses takes them home to his house at night where they sleep inside. (They sleep inside so wild dogs don't kill them.) Moses' kids, Christopher and Sandra, bring them back to the house where we are staying in the morning so team Lighthouse Mosaic can enjoy their company during our free time 🙂
I feel so blessed and tickled to be able to buy goats for Moses. These goats will eventually bring in a source of revenue for him once they grow older. It's been really neat for me to share this experience with not only him, but my team as well.
I am still in need of personal funds to purchase things like toiletries (toothpaste, body wash, shampoo, floss, lotion, etc.), be able to pay for internet so I can write blogs and call home, and have money to be able to do fun things – like buy a cold pop from time to time or go sightseeing. If you would like to help donate to my personal fund, you can do so by donating money through PayPal. My email address is [email protected].
