IMPACT JANUARY 2016
Sponsored youth Dismas with a new litter of piglets he will raise and sell to help support his educational goals for the future.
BUILDING A FUTURE
TAKING GOOD CARE OF A SPECIAL ‘PIGGY BANK’ For many members of the Unbound community, raising livestock means more than an additional source of income. For Dismas and his family, his pigs represent a lifeline to the future. Dismas is an 18-year-old student in Guatemala who is sponsored through Unbound. He’s the youngest of 10 children in a farming family that struggles to get by. He began raising pigs as a way to earn money while attending school. “I got the idea from Magnolia [a local Unbound social worker],” he
said. “She suggested that we ask for pigs as a sponsorship benefit. I liked the idea and my mother also encouraged me. We decided to get a female pig with the hopes of future baby pigs.” That plan worked out well. The initial investment of about $50 to purchase a sow has resulted in several piglets that Dismas has been able to sell in the market for about $40 each. With additional no-interest loans from Unbound for food and medicine for his animals, Dismas has been able to save some of his profits.
“I see my pigs like a savings account,” he said. “They are literally my ‘piggy bank.’” Raising the pigs has become a labor of love for the young man and a way of learning responsibility that only caring for another living thing can teach. “I enjoy taking care of them,” he said. “They require love and care so they can grow healthy. My favorite thing to do is to feed them. I like to see them enjoy their food.” But for all the experience he’s gaining in agriculture, Dismas hopes his future lies down a different path. (continued)