Residing in the outskirts of Baalbeck, Sanaa Shalha is a 50-year-old Lebanese participant in the “Livelihood through Goat Farming for Vulnerable Baalbeck-Hermel families” project, implemented by the Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training (LOST), in partnership with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), which seeks to enhance the livelihood of vulnerable Lebanese families from different sectarian backgrounds in Baalbeck-Hermel governorate struggling from the Syrian crisis situation through an integrated program of goat raising and milk production for Lebanese women. Additionally, these women are given training on marketing and sales, as well as peace education, thus encouraging increased stability and amplified peaceful communities for Lebanese and Syrian communities.
Sanaa Shalha is among the 80 vulnerable participants who received a goat at the start of the project in April, 2018. Sanaa lives with her 40-year-old husband, Zakaria Bibo, and their three children, Zahraa (14 years old), Hassan (11 years old), and Ali (8 years old). The children are all currently attending school. Prior to receiving the goat, the family used to purchase milk to make “ambarees”, a traditional dairy product, which usually costs around $200 for a large pot. After receiving the goat, the family started to produce milk to make ambarees and other dairy products, which alleviated the burden of purchasing dairy products from the market. The goat also gave birth to its offspring, giving the family another source of milk for dairy products.
Upon interviewing the family at their humble home, Sanaa explained that she benefitted greatly from the trainings on goat raising and milk production. “I did not know how to milk the goats prior to the trainings, but my husband did, now, him and I now both know how to care for them”, Sanaa stated. Sanaa’s husband, Zakaria works as a painter, with a daily income of approximately 20,000 LBP, which is equivalent to 13 USD. However, with the current deteriorating economic situation in Lebanon, Zakaria is not able to generate income every day. “If I had two or three more goats, I would only need to buy bread from the market, because we would obtain our dairy products (cheese, milk, ambarees) from the goats, which will save us a lot of money”.
The project is currently in its second year, with an upcoming distribution of goats to the vulnerable families during March. As stated by Zakaria, the goat they currently have is also expected to give birth soon (in approximately ten days), which gave the family a sense of relief. Sanaa and Zakaria believe that the goats have certainly alleviated their financial circumstances, and they hope to receive more goats to be able to eventually produce and sell their dairy products, to generate more income for their family.
