WEST BOUNTIFUL -- Taci Carroll may not remember much about the first few years of her life when she lived in Haiti, but the experience forever tied her heart to the country.
When Taci was a 2-year-old, she was adopted by Carol and Roger Carroll, of West Bountiful.
Now 6, she constantly thinks and worries about the people of Haiti. It's to the point that whenever she gets money she asks if she can send it to Haiti, Carol Carroll said.
Taci has good reason to worry. Approximately 80 percent of Haitians live below the poverty line and only 53 percent of the adult population can read, according to the CIA's World Factbook.
Because of Taci's desire to help her homeland, the Carrolls have been searching for a way for her to help.
Through a network of parents who have adopted Haitian children, the Carrolls discovered a goat-giving program offered through the nonprofit organization Sionfonds for Haiti.
A $100 donation through Sionfonds provides a goat for a Haitian family. The cost includes training, immunizations, breeding, and veterinary care.
The family can use the goat's milk as a source of income and food. Also, money can be earned by selling any kids the goat produces.
The Carrolls knew that raising $100 for a goat was an achievable goal that Taci could put her heart into.
Taci is using her artistic talent to benefit families from her birthplace. She makes Haitian dolls from melty beads and draws pictures of children and goats. She then sells them for any monetary donation.
When asked why she is making dolls and pictures, she said, "Because then I could sell them, and then I can get money, and I can use it to give the goats to Haiti. The goats give the milk to Haiti people, and then they sell the baby goats, and then they drink the milk."
People have been generous and have donated in amounts anywhere from a few dollars to $100, Carolaid Carroll said.
What started as an attempt to buy one goat has raised enough money to buy six. Taci, with her optimism, hopes to raise enough to buy 20 goats.
Annie Blackstone, the U.S. director for Sionfonds, used the example of a Haitian mother she met during a trip to Haiti to portray the needs within the country. The mother told Blackstone that she worked hard every day as a hotel maid and still did not have enough money to send her children to school.
According to Blackstone, education costs range from $100 to $300 a year and many families just don't have the money.
"(The goat-giving program) is a way families can change their economic circumstances," Blackstone said.
Owning a goat provides a family with a perpetual source of income and food, which could then supply the funds required to send a child to school.
"One tiny goat can make such a big difference," Carol Carroll said.
Field directors coordinate a breeding program with the goats and require each family to donate one baby goat back to the program. This ensures the progress of the program and allows Haitians to help other Haitians, Blackstone said.
The program currently has 45 goats in circulation.
Blackstone said many Haitian parents place their children for adoption in the hopes that they will someday return to help their country.
Taci is already an example of this at her age.
"How lovely, that so many children from Haiti are willing to help. It's beautiful," Blackstone. said.
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