Conrad Van Dijk is now back in Sierra Leone once again enjoying the sights and sounds of Freetown! His first week has been full of activities including spending time daily in devotions with SCHDO staff, holding planning meetings for poultry production and project management, delivering sponsor gifts and a meal to the children at the Wellington Orphanage, and visiting the poultry farms! Contact the CVMCanada office if you would like to receive Conrad’s Trip Updates!

Alpha, Schdo director, and Joseph, Schdo poultry manager, with van in front of Schdo office and guestroom house where I am staying

Children at wo eating the meal bought by the sponsors

Farmer family in front of their layer chicken house

I am handing out the presents to the wellington orphans

This is a picture of the inside of the model chicken barn. We plan to build one like this for the wellington orphanage village as well as other villages

Vendors selling bread to people in small private buses called poda podas trying earn a little bit of money for food for themselves

As of December 22, through your generosity, the Chickens for Christmas program has received $ 48,302.34! This is a significant step toward helping impoverished farmers in Sierra Leone become self-sufficient through raising chickens.

Chickens for Christmas – All Year Long

The Sierra Leone Poultry Project still has a long way to go to raise $165,000 to set up at least 70 farmers in 2010, so the Chickens for Christmas gift program will continue throughout the year. Continue checking this blog for important updates!

There’s Still Time

Send a special gift in the name of your loved ones for Christmas. Click here to donate online or contact the CVMCanada office.

We’ve made the motto of our Chickens for Christmas program, “Give a farmer a chicken and he will eat for one day, teach him how to raise chickens and his family will eat for a lifetime,” with the hope of helping poor farmers provide food, education, other basic needs for their families.

In 2005, I met an American who asked for advice for someone who was starting a poultry farm in the same area where our Poultry Project farmers were. Upon visiting this farmer, I discovered that it was a divine appointment. This man, Albert, had a calling to minister to the people in Sierra Leone through poultry. This was my calling too! What a divine coincidence to find someone with the same calling and who was living among our farmers! With his pastor, Pastor Conteh, they started an Alpha Program. Every Saturday afternoon for 4 years now, a meal is served to approximately 100 people from our farm community. They hear the word of God and participate in lively discussions. Two small churches have been started are being led by Pastor Conteh. These farmers and their families are now fed spiritual food for eternity.

CVMCanada, as well as World Vision and other organizations, seeks to help alleviate poverty through chicken projects. Please have a quick look at this funny 30 second video of comedian Colin Mochrie talking to a chicken!

Chickens are the ideal animal to help poor farmer families in Sierra Leone increase their income. They can earn $5 to $10 per chicken on the sale of eggs, sale of chicken, and use of manure as fertilizer. Just 100 chickens can substantially increase the family’s income even though it may not seem like much by our standards. It is our prayer that we will be able to set up at least 70 farmers as soon as possible as we gradually aim to help at least 1000 farmers long-term. This is the whole reason behind our Chickens for Christmas campaign!

Following are pictures showing the sequence in a farmer setting up for a flock or layer chickens.

One of the poultry farms we want to set up is for an orphan village that is being planned. This village will be located about 40 km. east of Freetown, just off a main highway. Currently there are about 10 acres of land available which has been acquired by the Wellington Orphanage. This orphanage houses 84 children. These children have mainly lost their parents in the recent civil war. Their orphanage is currently located in the Wellington area of Freetown in a fairly nice but overcrowded facility with an inadequate sewage system.

Pastor Mansaray, the director of Wellington Orphanage, has received the vision of this orphanage village and we want to help him attain it. With the Lord’s blessing, we will start with a poultry barn with 1000 layer chickens. This will help supply eggs for the orphanage and profit from the eggs to buy other food items. They will also grow vegetables and other crops on adjacent land.

It is hoped that the village itself, will eventually house 200 orphans in 25 homes (8 children per house with a house parent). It will also have a primary school, secondary school, church, recreational facilities, and soccer field as well as the farm.

The children will be fed by the farm, have the opportunity to learn about farming, as well as live in a protected community environment.