LIFE SAVING GIFT CARDS.

Animal Gift Cards
Upon receipt of your donation we will send you one of our life-saving Gift Cards. You may chose either a specific Animal gift card, which outlines the livestock programme you wish to support, or from a selection of occassional cards such as Birthday, Anniversary, St. Valentines Day, Wedding Day or any-day cards.

Written On the back of these cards:

"Bóthar is the aid agency that provides poverty stricken families with the means to solve their problems - permanently. We do this by using livestock in development aid.

The living gift of a farm animal gives a poor family an opportunity to improve their circumstances and, by working with their animal over time, to raise themselves up to a position of relative comfort. Each family must ‘pass on’ the first female offspring born to their animal to a neighbouring poor family so that the benefit multiplies".

	ANNIVERSARY CARD MOTHERS DAY ST. PATRICKS DAY FATHERS DAY BIRTHDAY CARD WEDDING DAY BOVINE DONATIONS Irish dairy cows will produce up to 20 times as much nutritious milk every day as the average local cow in Uganda, Malawi, and Cameroon. Milk & cheese from the living gift of a cow instantly improves the diet of an impoverished family and also produces enough milk for them to sell and earn an income. Suddenly mothers and fathers are in a position to purchase food and medicine for their families. Over time they can even send their children to school!!! CARD YOU WILL RECIEVE CARD YOU WILL RECIEVE CAMEL DONATIONS Camels, they can survive through long periods of drought which makes them an invaluable commodity and and ideal gift to the farmers of the Maasai. They can provide a family with meat, milk, butter and draft power for ploughing and farm work, which will dramatically increase a communities crop production and quality of life. GOAT DONATIONS Giving a gift of an Irish dairy goat to a family in Tanzania would change their lives forever. An Irish goat will produce up to four times as much milk as a local cow - that's up to four litres of nutritious milk per day. This is enough to enable the family to enjoy milk in their diet and raise money from the sale of extra milk and cheese. Families who receive dairy goats from Bóthar would often not have enough land to support a larger animal, so your gift of a dairy goat will go to the poorest of the poor. CARD YOU WILL RECIEVE CARD YOU WILL RECIEVE BEE DONATIONS Bees provide many benefits to our project families in Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Cameroon and Zambia. Native bees produce a sweet, medicinal honey and valuable wax, both of which are in high demand in the local markets. Each family that receives a gift of honeybees from Bóthar is provided with training in the art of bee keeping, as well as the harvesting and the marketing of the honey and wax. CHICK DONATIONS Through Bóthar's chicken project in West Africa, families receive a flock of fifty laying hens along with the training and assistance required to establish their own egg-producing unit. Eggs become an important commodity to recipient families. Having reached maturity, hens can lay up to 200 eggs per year, the family can sell the eggs to help pay school fees and earn much needed cash. CARD YOU WILL RECIEVE CARD YOU WILL RECIEVE FISH DONATIONS Ireland has long enjoyed the tradition of fishing with people coming here every year to spend lazy days by our rivers and streams. Everybody knows a fishing enthusiast; we have bought them the rods, and the reels. What about sending them a different gift this year? Again it is important to know that not only does your gift help one family but is shared among the community, ensuring that other members benefit. When the first recipient family is in a position of relative comfort they 'pass on' the gift by providing the funds to purchase fifty fish fingerlings to a neighbouring needy family. Like a pebble dropping in water, your generosity will send ripples through whole communities. PIG DONATIONS In West Africa, Bóthar's pig projects have been improving the lot of poor families since 1999. Pigs need little land and as they can even consume vegetables and garden waste, they are not in competition with humans for food. In return an average sow will have 16-20 piglets a year, which grow quickly and are ready for market in a few short months. The income generated through their sale helps the family to take their first step towards self-sufficiency and provides money for necessities like school, clothes and housing. Pigs also produce manure which acts as a valuable fertiliser to enrich the garden, thus increasing vegetable and crop yields. CARD YOU WILL RECIEVE CARD YOU WILL RECIEVE RABBIT DONATIONS Ever heard the expression 'breeding like rabbits' and wonder just how quickly that is? In our Bóthar China projects, families receive a trio of rabbits-1 buck and 2 does. Using a breed called New Zealand white, each doe will have up to 6 litters a year. Each litter consists of about 8 kits (baby rabbits). That's almost 100 offspring per year! Young rabbits mature quickly and are ready for further breeding or market in three months, now that's fast! Rabbits eat leftover vegetables and in turn produce nitrogen rich manure that can be used on crops or sold as fertiliser. TREE DONATIONS Here's the perfect gift for the gardener in your family - the Eco-friendly gift of trees for a village in India! Planting fast growing trees that put nitrogen in the soil, serve as windbreaks and work against soil erosion and provide fodder and fencing will have a long-term impact on a locality. The most common use for these fast growing trees is firewood. While Bóthar works to equip communities with alternative fuel sources such as manure and biogas, they also strive to replenish depleted forest areas and teach communities the benefits of cultivating one of natures greatest gifts. CARD YOU WILL RECIEVE