I went away to a retreat at Asilomar with my church. I was definitely blessed with having a roomate from Kenya. We shared so many things in our history and we had many stories to share about serving our world and those nearest to us. I told her about giving goats for Christmas and she shared a very moving story with me. S. told me a story about how a family she knew did get a goat. Similar to the ones that you can donate through various organizations. How the goat produced milk for that gave the family money to send the kids to school. Eventually one of those kids got into Harvard on full scholarship. The kid could have stayed in the US and taken a posh job. However the kid decides to give back to her village and try to make a difference. She brought in new programs, new ideas for the economy, and social services to meet the needs of the neediest of the village. She came back to put her education to use. All of this could only have happened because of a goat that was given as a donation to her family.

For birthdays and holidays consider giving a gift that really makes a difference. Check out the following:
Alternative Gifts International
Heavenly Treasures,
Network for Good
Heifer International