Chicks change lives for struggling families in Kenya

Farming can be a tough way to make a living. Harsh weather, drought, and quick changes in seasons can spell an early end to a year’s worth of work. In Kenya, farming and agriculture is a source of livelihood for many families. Many parents at our Baraka site are farmers, and can only work when the conditions are right. It can be difficult for parents without full-time work to budget and provide for their children year round. Many people take odd jobs throughout the year to try to make ends meet.

Family Circle members at our Baraka site, comprised of parents and guardians of sponsored children, meet regularly to discuss their family budgets. Many members began to discuss ways to supplement their income, and began researching different business ventures. They discovered that raising chickens, a very common practice in Baraka, can be turned into a profitable small business with a little extra effort. Chickens are easy to raise, provide extra nutrition for the family, and both chicks and eggs can be sold for a profit.

The families were all motivated to start their small businesses raising chicks, and were eager to get started. The biggest challenged they faced was that most members had difficulty accessing enough healthy chicks to get started.

Thanks to the support of our kind donors, the Family Circle members received a group incubator through our gift catalogue! They also received extra live chicks to help get them started. The incubator is able to hold 528 eggs. It takes about one month for the eggs to hatch, so that means up to an astounding 6,336 chicks can be hatched a year!

The incubator was installed at a central local farm for security and easy accessibility. Members from 23 Family Circles are able to bring their eggs for hatching for those who already have hens that are laying eggs, and live chicks were given to families just starting out. By the end of next year, it’s expected that the majority of the families at our Baraka site with have no less than 50 chickens on their farms! They will be in the position to earn extra income and to supplement their children’s nutrition with protein rich eggs.

Want to give the gift of chicks to a family in need? Chicks are one of our most popular items from our gift catalogue. Give a chick- help change a life.