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Beatrice's Goat




We travelled to Uganda to meet Beatrice Biira. Beatrice was a young girl who was not able to attend school due to a lack of funds.  The Heifer International donated 12 goats to her village and Beatrice's family was one of the recipients.  This goat inevitably changed Beatrice’s life. 

After listening to the book, “Beatrice’s Goat” by Page McBrier, the children made a chart comparing their responsibilities with those of Beatrice’s before she was given the goat.  Their list of responsibilities:  to play, to go to school, clean up toys and help mom and dad.  Beatrice’s list was much different.  Her responsibilities included looking after her brothers and sisters, working in the field, feeding the chickens and grinding the cassava plant into flour. Beatrice did not go to school. Oliver summed it up by stating, “We sure are lucky!”

After receiving the goat Beatrice was able to make money by selling the goat’s milk.  Not only was Beatrice able to provide the necessities for her family, she also was able to save money to go to school.

The children were able to see that their lives differed greatly form Beatrice’s.  However, the children recognized that they help their parent like Beatrice did but just in a different way.

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