Beatrice's Goat
More than anything, Beatrice longs to be a schoolgirl. But in her small African village, only children who can afford uniforms and books can go to school. Beatrice knows that with six children to care for, her family is much too poor. But then Beatrice receives a wonderful gift from some people far away — a goat! Fat and sleek as a ripe mango, Mugisa (which means "luck") gives milk that Beatrice can sell. With Mugisa's help, it looks as if Beatrice's dream may come true after all. Based on a true story about the work of Project Heifer.
illustrator
Lori Lohstoeter
9780689824609
Genre:
Picture Book Realistic Fiction
Age:
Primary (ages 6-9)
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Beatrice's Goat is a wonderful example of microfinance in practice. Through the loan granted by Heeifer International, Beatrice is able to help her mother build a pen for her "loan" of a goat.
the terms of the loan demand that when her goat produces offspring, they are donated to another family in the communnity--thus the loan is paid back and actually grows.
In the interim, Beatrice's family has enough goat milk to feed her own family and to sell excess milk to members of the community.
Through this she is able to attend the local school and eventually college in the USA. Check out the www.heiferinternational.org website for more information on Beatrice. There is also a 60 Minutes DVD featuring Beatrice and her experience available from Amazon.com and other websites.
This book is a good begining place for the beginning discussion of microfinance and how we as small supporters can have a big impact on the lives of others in places in the world of which we've only dreamed.
This is a wonderful book and an even better story. My trade books teacher recently read this to us and we were amazed that with just a goat Beatrice was able to make all of her goals and so much more come true. We as Americans take so much for granted, but such a small gift as a goat gave a little girl her own life and success.