Passing-on-the-gift Triumph – Captivating Kaili Village

We are thrilled to report that passing-on-the-gift has been hugely successful. As at 30 June, 2015, there are 282 families in the Captivating Kaili Village Program. We started with 153 original families back in 2012 who received initial funding from the program and received either pigs, chickens, or agricultural based solutions to be able to increase their ongoing annual incomes. Of these 153 families, 129 have fully repaid their original gifts enabling new families to join the program. This means their home businesses are working and their family income levels have increased. The most recent example of this was on June 16, 2015, when a passing-on-the-gift ceremony was held in Ji Bo village. At this ceremony, 21 farmers actively attended wanting to join this project. This is a day of great celebration for the families as this represents a significant milestone for them. They are issued a certificate for being successful with the program and for repaying the money. They also get to experience the joy of seeing another family benefit because of their repayments – another family given the opportunity to create a brighter future for their children.

Participants of this project learn many things including: the best ways to buy and sell in the markets; best farming practices; environment protection and so much more. The villagers have begun to implement these principles within their communities. This has resulted in this community coming together to build bridges, fix roads and implement rubbish management systems. The flow-on effect from the projects “pass-on-the-gift” stage can be repeated through multiple cycles as the new recipient families pass on the gift themselves in a few years time.  This will continue well past the time Captivating completes their role the program.

This 5 year program is projected to conclude by December 2017, by which time 450 families will either be poverty free or on their way to being poverty free. This ultimately means much more secure futures for several hundred children who will without doubt finish their schooling and go as far as they or their parents want them to. It’s creating the ability for families to make these choices. Full credit goes to our implementing partner – Heifer China and to our wonderful donors for making all this possible.

For more information about this project or to find out how you could partner with Captivating to bring lasting change to families in remote, rural locations, contact andrewc@captivating.org.