FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Anthony Wayne Rotary of Fort Wayne has announced a Rotary District Grant for the University of Saint Francis student group Formula for Life to purchase goats and fencing for Our Lady of Perpetual Help Orphanage in Haiti. Dr. Amy Obringer, an Anthony Wayne Rotary member and USF Biology professor, was the author of the grant.
Nearly one in three Haitians are considered food insecure, and women and children are especially vulnerable to the impacts of malnutrition. Almost half of women aged 15 to 49 and 65 percent of children under five are considered anemic. The consequences of chronic anemia lead to poor school performance, decreased resistance to disease and decreased physical activity. The number one cause of death among children under five in Haiti is malnutrition.
In Haiti, goats are preferred animals to raise and process for milk and meat. They are easy to maintain, are mature at one year of age and can produce two kids per litter per year.
The Rotary grant will serve both the orphanage and the surrounding neighborhood. The goats will provide nutrition for the orphans, primarily, but as the herd grows, the animals will also provide for the neighborhood children who also attend the school that is operated by the orphanage. The goats will provide milk and meat for consumption along with young for expansion of the herd and for sale. In addition, the goats will serve as a tool to teach the older orphan children animal husbandry, as well as processing for meal preparation.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Orphanage occupies 15 acres of land in the Plaine du Nord region of northern Haiti. The Formula for Life student service organization has been helping Haiti residents plan and build the orphanage since 2007. When complete, the orphanage will be a campus that will provide a home for 160 orphans.
For more information about Formula for Life, visit f4l.sf.edu.
Founded in 1890 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, the University of Saint Francis offers more than 70 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs through the School of Health Sciences, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership and School of Creative Arts. In addition to its traditional programs, USF designs focused curricula for working adults in Fort Wayne, Crown Point and online. In 2016, the University of Saint Francis expanded its presence to downtown Fort Wayne. USF Downtown houses the university’s business and music technology programs while offering enhanced internship and networking opportunities for students. The University of Saint Francis campus experience includes 16 athletic programs boasting two individual and four team NAIA national championships, and is recognized as an NAIA Five-Star Champion of Character institution. Approximately 2,300 students from a broad geographic region attend USF.