Greetings,
We thought we'd squeeze in one more
eNewsletter before the end of 2009. We had so
many things to report on that we didn't get to
in our last eNews. You can quickly jump to the
stories in the eNews by clicking on the links in
"In this issue."
We are happy to announce a new initiative.
Our cattle program in Zambia has been a
great success in that it has provided three
Zambian communities cattle where there was none
before. Disease had wiped out entire herds eight
years previously and nothing was done to rebuild
them. In 2001 we began a program similar to
Heifer Project International's in providing
heifers and bulls. But, it's more than just
giving cattle to the poor. This donation is
preceded by an education program to teach proper
calf care and calf feeding. We require proper
veterinary practices. All this has paid off with
with hardly any loss of animals in almost a
nine-year period. The heifers have become milk
producers and are giving children, especially,
much needed protein. They animals are also used
for draft power. Once the program is underway
the animals reproduce and there is no further
expense to us. Everyone benefits. You can read
about our Animal Husbandry Training Course on
our Zambian site at
http://lifenets.org/zambia/potg.htm. One
key feature is that the first animal born must
be given to a qualified neighbor who agrees to
go through the same training as the original
beneficiary.
To get children on this end of the need
involved, we have started a program called Kids
for Cows. I have spoken to classrooms of
children who have had it in their compassionate
hearts to want to do something. Now, children
CAN help by providing the first animals to stock
the program in Kenya and Zimbabwe through
Kids for Cows. See story below.
In the coming year we have four special
events to raise awareness and funds to selected
LifeNets programs. We'll be writing about each
one separately. The events are:
1. March 6 Ft. Worth, Texas Boot
Scoot for scholarships
2. April 17 Seattle, Washington.
Rotary fundraiser for LifeNets Academy and
local LifeNets chapter functions
3. June 20 Queens, New York.
Brunch for LifeNets Orphan Care Centre in
Balaka, Malawi
4. August 22 Mandan, North Dakota
Triathlon for Africa Water Projects and
local chapter functions
We thank all who have volunteered to
organize these events.
Today is the last day to make a year-end
donation (tax-exempt in the US) donation. You
can even pay by credit card or PayPal from the
home page of our Website
www.lifenets.org.
Thanks for your interest in LifeNets! We
appreciate your making LifeNets your charity of
choice.
Victor Kubik
President
LifeNets
started providing cattle for Zambians in 2001. There
has always been a strong link between children and
the cows. Children in the poorest of all countries
are the biggest beneficiaries of the cattle. Cows
provide milk, a much-needed and lacking part of
their diet.
small
son Harrison. Victor and Beverly Kubik were able to
visit with them in October 2008 when the shop was
first being built. It now has a steady stream of
customers. Loveness is very good at what she does
and people like coming to get their hair done at
Lovely Looks Hair Dressing Salon. It was named by
Christina Davis when she did her internship with
Seattle University in connection with LifeNets
earlier in 2009.
