I know it’s a bit late in the day, but I just wanted to make a quick post to wish you a Merry Christmas! Did you remember to track Santa with NORAD?
I hope you and yours have a great and safe holiday season. Enjoy your time together since you never know where the next year will take you (for me, last year it was Busan, 2011 might be Poland/Ukraine!)
My family did something a little different this year. Instead of exchanging gifts we bought goats. My brothers and sister raised enough cash to buy one herd, our Dad matched that and added one more, which was then matched by the Government of Canada and other organizational donors bringing us to a total of six herds. (If you buy a herd they also send along some boy goats so they can, um, well, propagate the species.)
So, sometime soon, a bunch of families in Africa will be receiving goats, goat training, assistance with breeding them wild beasts, animal shelters and various drugs and supplies to help the goats be productive. Plan Canada, the company through which we bought our goats, apparently keeps 20% of the money for operating costs, other than that, it’s all goat milk from there.
Ah, for those of you wondering where this idea came from, well, my sister saw a documentary called Where’s My Goat?, about this guy, Christopher Richardson, who buys an “ethical gift” from Plan Canada. Curious to know if its the real deal or a scam, he goes to Africa to find out. Although I have yet to see it, you can find some more information about it on the website. A write-up about the documentary on the University of King’s College website gives a glimpse of the controversial nature of this “ethical gift” giving. I’m eager to see it.
Have a safe and happy holiday season!