Unwrap the true spirit of Christmas

Now in Zambia, Kirsten and the True Spirit of Christmas Team is visiting a woman named Joyce whose life has been changed by the gift of goats. What do scones have to do with that? Follow our visit with this remarkable woman to find out!

 

(Note: We’re also including this short note from Kirsten to our editors back at headquarters to give you an idea of what’s coming next): Here is my intro blog for our visit with the goats; use as you wish. In addition to my intro video, we will be sending a sweet video of me collecting goat poo and dispersing it in the fields with my hands. (And, yes, my fingers came across some fresh poops.)

Food, shelter, and a sense of hope.

It doesn’t take much time around Joyce to understand that she is a strong, thoughtful woman. Joyce has persevered through tough times, and she thanks World Vision because now she has hope for the future.

“I am very grateful because I am set free from my burden because World Vision has given me these goats. I pray God will bless those who helped give me these goats.”

Joyce was married with three children when her husband died, and she moved back home to live with her mother. When she started showing signs of sickness and it became apparent she had HIV, her mother kicked her out. She saw her daughter and grandkids as a burden.

Joyce had nothing. She foraged the fields for wild berries and other edible plants, never getting quite enough food for her children, who were no longer in school. She was frequently ill and her young girls were forced to try and take care of her.

Now, after receiving the gift of goats, Joyce is able to feed her children. In order to earn a stable income, Joyce learned how to cook scones from her neighbors. She sold a goat to buy the initial ingredients and she currently makes and sells scones twice a week.

The sale of these scones brings in $12 a week. I am excited to bake scones with Joyce this week and will tell you how they are made!

Joyce currently has eight goats, and two are expecting. The goats also provide manure, which she uses as a rich fertilizer to help grow maize and other crops. Joyce has sold goats for hospital visits and is currently strong and feeling well.

When we ask to see her house, Joyce stands a little stronger. Before the goats, she was homeless. She has built this house largely through the sale of goats. The most recent addition is the safe and permanent tin roof.

Joyce beams as we sit and talk in her three-room house. She says her daughters share a room, and her own room is her sanctuary.

From food to a stable source of income to a safety net for healthcare coverage, goats have transformed Joyce’s life.

I asked Joyce what would happen in her community if more people received goats. “People’s common problems would go away,” she said. “[People would be able to] go to the hospital when sick and could sell a goat if their crop was bad instead of starving as they sometimes do now.”

In Chongwe, many residents live without a safety net. An illness or bad crop is enough to lead to death. Goats and other World Vision interventions serve as a safety net and give people like Joyce a reason to believe in a better future for her and her daughters.

This story touched my heart deeply as my brother just bought me a goat from the Gift Catalog. I know this goat will transform lives, providing food, shelter, and hope. My prayer is that you will join my brother and get a goat for a family member or friend this Christmas season. You can transform lives with a simple gift.

Thanks for the goat, Cameron!