Checking In With The Chickens of Change

chickens

Chickens at the farm at the Ashirvad Home.

Chickens bringing change to the lives of children? That’s exactly what’s happening in India. There have been exciting new developments at our chicken farm at the Ashirvad Home in Tuni, India. There are now over 100 full-grown chickens and 62 new baby chicks.
The farm has 60 chickens known as “country chickens,” and they are the ones that gave birth to the new baby chicks in the last 12 weeks. The other half of the adult chickens are known as Vanajara chickens. While the home lost some of them to a heatwave and nearby dogs, the remaining 51 Vanajara chickens will be laying eggs within the next month. Losing some chickens will probably always be an inevitable part of the chicken farm, but with enough to keep breeding, the project will remain sustainable and productive.

Kitechild funded the purchase of the chickens, the construction of the coop, labor for the farm and the cost of caring for the chickens, such as vaccinations.

Kitechild funded the purchase of the chickens, the construction of the coop, labor for the farm and the cost of caring for the chickens, such as vaccinations.

The home is now preparing to sell the country chickens in the marketplace, while keeping a portion of the birds to keep the breeding and the project going. They are expecting 250 rupees, or around $4, for each country hen and 500 rupees, or about $8, for each country rooster. The money generated in the marketplace will be used to get the children fresh fruits every other day starting in June.

shed

Chicken shed at the farm.

Last year, the farm constructed a shed that used palm leaves to keep the chickens cool in the summer heat. However, they found the leaves wore out quickly and will need to replace their roof. Instead of utilizing leaves, this time they are looking for a longer-term solution with a tarpaulin sheet, which is a heavy-duty waterproof cloth. This way they won’t have to keep changing out the leaves and they can better protect their shed and chickens.

Some of the children living at the Ashirvad Home.

Some of the children living at the Ashirvad Home.

This chicken farm takes place for the benefit of the 79 children living at the home. The income generated by selling the chickens is used to supplement their diets with fresh produce, which is an added nutritional benefit along with the fresh eggs now available to the children, as well. As we watch this project grow, the home will eventually be able to afford to purchase computers and hire a teacher for the children. It is really valuable for the children to learn computing skills for the Indian job market and will help secure their futures and break the cycle of poverty. To learn more about this project and the chickens of change please click here!

The children of the Ashirvad Home, whose education and nutrition is benefitted from the chicken farm.

l The children of the Ashirvad Home, whose education and nutrition is being improved from the chicken farm.

TBT St. Catherine’s Home

A #tbt to the St. Catherine’s home in Kenya and our successful Clean Water Access project. You can see them working the filter, which provided clean drinking water to the children at the home! We’re so excited to be partnering with them again with a greenhouse that will be targeting the nutrition and education of the kids! We will have a matching donor, who will match all donations up to $10,000! Let’s make this happen for #everychild!

Greenhouses in Kenya Are Creating Change for Children

The six greenhouses at the Fiwagoh Home in Nakuru, Kenya are a success! The home is currently saving over $10,000 in their annual food costs thanks to the fruits and veggies that are growing in the greenhouses. Those savings go directly to making life better for the kids at the home and pay for additional caretakers, which they need and deserve!

Kenyan Greenhouse is Targeting the Educational and Nutritional Needs of Children

Thanks to the income generated from our greenhouse at the Watoto Wema home, these kids are getting more of their educational costs covered! The greenhouse is now producing 1200 kilos of veggies a month, which helps the kids have access to nutritious foods and by selling the surplus in the local markets, the income funds school costs. Education and healthy foods for kids is an A+ in our book!  

Who would have thought? Google Earth shows that cows across the world graze along the earth’s magnetic poles. We’ll have to ask the kids at the Flying Kites Home in Kenya about that tidbit. The 32 kids at the home benefit from our dairy cow project through daily milk to supplement their diets and by saving money from not buying milk from the market. The money the home saves goes towards the secondary education of the older children. Nutrition and education? Sounds like a recipe for success. http://goo.gl/QyngwV 

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