Gilbert school gives the gift of goats

A Gilbert school is collecting spare change to buy farm animals for rural villages in Africa.

Surrey Garden Christian School raises money for charity though its "Change for Change" campaign. Kindergarten though sixth-grade children have been working on their "Goats for Ghana" project for the last four months.

The school is working with Partners International, purchasing goats from the company's Harvest of Hope gift catalog.

Megan Huggins, Harvest of Hope coordinator, said the company was started in 1943 to help Christian missionaries abroad. It focuses primarily on countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Partners International has missionary partners around the globe that help it best utilize the money it is able to raise.

"All the projects are coming from our ministry partners who are living and working there," Huggins said, adding projects include providing school supplies for children in India, a well for a rural village in Africa and bicycles for missionaries traveling abroad.

Jody van Rijn, who has six children attending Surrey, heard about Harvest of Hope after her husband and father went on a missionary trip to India through Partners International.

Van Rijn, a goat farmer, saw the school's "Change for Change" campaign as the perfect opportunity to combine her love for goats with her desire to help those less fortunate in Africa.

Van Rijn explained goats are of great significance for many Third World countries, and they provide African women the opportunity to run home businesses. The goats will provide families with milk and income because the offspring can be sold to other women throughout the village.

"The teachers have been so supportive, and it's not just a handout. We are providing a business for these women that will last for years to come," Van Rijn said.

Cyndy Kountz has been a teacher at the Surrey school for 11 years. Her class raised the most money for the last quarter.

Kountz said the children like to compete with the other classes. They became really excited about the project after Van Rijn brought some of her goats to the school for a day.

"I think that's why this fundraiser has really taken off because the goats are so visible. It's such a tangible way to help," Kountz said.

Kountz said the children in her class set a goal to raise enough money to buy 15 goats by the end of the project this summer, enough to provide for an entire village.

Dena Wall, who has two children who attend the Surrey school, said the project was an easy one to get behind because so little money could provide such an enormous impact.

Wall said she wrote a check for two goats and her children are contributing their allowance. She said the project allows her children to see there are others out there less fortunate and it is important to take note of what you have.

"I'd rather have a compassionate child than one that is academically perfect. As a whole society, we should teach our kids more about compassion for others," Wall said.

Each goat costs $55 and the school's original goal was to raise enough money for 15 goats. To date, the kids have raised $2,591, enough for 47 goats.

It is the school's student council that picks what project to work on and Mireille Helm is in charge. For Helm, the charity work is all about the bigger picture.

"We're trying to teach these kids to be philanthropic and give back to the community," she said.

The school plans next school year to continue working with Partners International. It will eventually move on to raising money for chickens and pigs.