Donated livestock increases revenue in the wider community.

Eating, milking, and breeding livestock effectively helps rural families supplement their household income. This enables more families to pay their children’s school fees, which in turn improves school attendance. Nutrition in the community also improves, and multiple generations learn animal husbandry skills.

In 2014 Sacramento Country Day School began funding rabbits, pigs, and goats for Rulindo students ta take home and raise. Hundreds received animals each year until the program was discontinued in 2018, when focus shifted to bringing more cows to school campuses. At that time we also invited our partner schools to award cows to “outstanding educators” each year, which we hoped would help retain excellent faculty members and improve life for their families. Two teachers received cows before the pandemic interrupted that program also.

Now in 2023 many schools are asking REE to restart the small animal program, as rural communities face ever-tougher economic times and families struggle with unemployment and relentless inflation. This time we will try to increase parental commitment and accountability by asking them to show that they have prepared adequate shelters before students bring animals home. Parents and guardians will also sign contracts pledging to monitor the health of donated livestock, and will be encouraged to give back a percentage of animal offspring to their local schools and to their neighbors.