How Does GFA Help Africa in Poverty Related Issues?
Africa is the poorest continent; about 47 percent of its population is living in Africa in poverty.[1] The concentration will likely increase as the population continues to grow rapidly. Even now, the situation is dire, as one in four sub-Saharan Africans is malnourished.[2] The top three poorest countries in the world are in the same region of Africa: Burundi, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[3]
GFA World is committed to addressing the major issues of African poverty. One way GFA helps poverty-stricken families and communities in Asia, and soon in Africa also, is by gifting income-producing animals, such as chickens, cows, goats or other livestock. The families can use the eggs, milk and meat from the animals to feed themselves or to sell for money. Some of the animals can also help with fertilizing and harvesting crops, greatly increasing a family’s ability to provide for themselves.[4]
Taden is a poor man, a loving husband and a father of four children. His own dad had died when he was young, leaving him poor at a very young age. Even as an adult, Taden was unable to break out of the poverty cycle.. He took different seasonal manual labor jobs. Even if he could afford his children’s education, they wouldn’t be able to attend since Taden moved his family around often in order to find work. Still, his small wages were not enough to provide for the whole family, so his children also had to take on labor to help earn extra income.
One day, a GFA pastor struck up a friendship with Taden, eventually leading him to faith in Christ. After learning more about his situation, the pastor gave Taden and his family a cow. The life-changing gift soon gave birth to a calf and began producing milk, which the family sold, finally earning enough money to meet their basic needs. Since they no longer needed to move around for work, they settled down, and the four kids started school.
Taden later sold one of the cows and bought two goats, which had two more goats that he sold for more money than the whole family had previously made in six months of manual labor.
“I would like to thank those who have helped me get the cow as a gift. My life has definitely been blessed 100 percent,” Taden said.[5]
Giving animals is one of the best methods for helping people in need break out of the cycle of poverty. Consider lending a hand to this effort by donating to GFA World and continuing to pray for their work in Africa.
Learn more about poverty in Africa
[1] Degn, Emily. “15 Facts about Poverty in Africa.” The Borgen Project. https://borgenproject.org/15-facts-about-poverty-in-africa. April 6, 2018.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Shvili, Jason. “The Poorest Countries in the World.” World Atlas. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-poorest-countries-in-the-world.html. September 1, 2020.
[4] Holt, Palmer. “A Surprising Antidote to World Poverty: Farm Animals.” GFA Special Report. https://www.gfa.org/special-report/solutions-poverty-farm-animals. November 30, 2021.
[5] “A Father’s Good Gift.” GFA World. https://www.gfa.org/news/articles/a-fathers-good-gift-wfr19-10. October 2019.