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Why has Oxfam been providing animals and training for vets?Natural disasters such as droughts can lead to people losing their livestock, and this affects poorer people much more harshly than richer people. People often depend on their animals for food and an income, and without them there can be a real risk of starvation. This means that it's really important to make sure that people have enough animals to survive and that they know how to look after them in difficult conditions. Imagine if you got your milk from a goat each day, the nearest shop was 10 miles away and you had no money for milk... What would you do if your goat got sick or died? We want to make sure that everyone has enough animals and are able to look after them properly so that kind of situation doesn't happen.
How has Oxfam been helping?In areas like Mauritania, Oxfam has been buying goats to distribute to families. The goats are bought in the country where they are needed, and special goat-sharing schemes mean that there are soon plenty to go around! When the goats give birth there are often kids playing with kids! Oxfam also trains local people to look after the goats in case they become ill. Khadidjetou Mint Mohamedva was one of the people who took part in training. “I was trained by Oxfam to be a veterinary assistant. This is the first time a woman here has become one.The training lasted ten days and included how to inject animals, how to use medicines and vitamins for animals, and how to identify diseases.They also gave us a basic kit to use." What difference has Oxfam's work made?Aiche Mint Imizine lives in Aftout, one of the areas worst affected by the drought.
"Before receiving help from Oxfam we were living in very hard conditions. Because of the storms and drought our animals had died and the only source of income left was agriculture. "[I consider] the goats we received from Oxfam... a gift from the sky... Giving animals to people like us is very important. It gave me confidence and increased my family's security. Two of the goats gave birth so we have more animals and we had milk at a traditional time of hardship. "Life here has always been hard and the people have suffered, but we'd have suffered more without this help. We thank Oxfam, and all who have helped bring assistance to us, because we know that this help came from people of good will, people who have assisted us without knowing us." Why should we keep providing animals and training for vets?As we have seen, in many countries animals such as goats are really useful and important. Until we've managed to make poverty history there will continue to be people so badly affected by drought that Oxfam providing goats or other animals can be essential to help people rebuild their lives. We want to make sure that everyone has a chance to live a happy and healthy life like you do!
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