Goats Jump-start a Home Business

Goats are a main livelihood source for many people in Haiti.

Life in Haiti is a challenge, especially for parents.

Lisette is 28 and has two young girls to raise—Sandy who is eight and Naica who is three. She and her family live in the rural community of Cachiman. Four years ago, Lisette faced a critical situation —none of her family members had a job. As a result, they could not afford to pay school fees for her children or provide for the family.

In 2015, Lisette received training in health and livelihoods from Food for the Hungry (FH) Haiti. She also received a goat as part of the community livestock distribution.

A few months later, the goat gave birth to two kids. She gave one baby goat to another household in keeping with the pay-it-forward model. And then her original goat gave birth again—to three more kids! She sold two of those to pay school fees and buy uniforms and books for her daughter.

A few weeks later, she sold the last goat kid. The income she got from the kid, combined with her little savings, was enough to open a small business where she sells prepared meals. This new venture has enabled Lisette to cover the everyday expenses of life for her family.

“I had to do so because I was not working and life was hard for me and my family. Hopefully, the business is going well. I use part of the benefits to provide for the family. Fortunately for us, the goats have just given birth to three more kids (2 females, 1 male). I am taking good care of them. Once they become big, I will again sell two of them and use part of the money to increase the business and part of it to buy uniforms and books for the children for the next school year. This program is a blessing for us in the family as well as the community and I want to say thanks to God for that.”