Statement made on 14 May 2009 by Senator Jane Cordy
Hon. Jane Cordy:
This month, parliamentarians and senators were engaged in the friendly Parliament Hill Goat Challenge. The campaign's goal was to sell 1,000 "goats" to raise money to support the expansion of a nutrition program at the Nazareth Children's Centre in Ethiopia. The challenge pitted political parties against each other in a fundraising drive through the selling of goats.
The goats were sold in the form of buttons. The party that sold the most goats and had the largest goat herd won the opportunity to name the ceremonial goat for the following year. I am sure that could allow us to have some pretty innovative names.
Last year, the children's goat foundation gala raised nearly $100,000 to start a nutrition and education program for 250 orphaned children in Ethiopia. The funds raised this year will be used to expand the nutrition program at the Nazareth Children's Centre in Ethiopia to an existing 750 children who are currently on the waiting list.
The nutrition program at the Nazareth Children's Centre in Ethiopia is only one of many programs that the Children's Bridge Foundation organizes in aid of orphaned and abandoned children in poorer areas around the world.
The Children's Bridge Foundation was established by a group of parents who had completed their families through international adoption. In 2003, the CBF was incorporated as a volunteer-based charitable organization with a mission to give aid to orphaned and abandoned children. The CBF is a non-governmental organization with no religious or political affiliation. The CBF has helped children in China, Vietnam, Korea, Kazakhstan, India and Ethiopia.
I express my sincere gratitude to all honourable senators for their generosity in support of such a worthy cause. I also remind senators that it is not too late and "goats" can be purchased from me for only $20. The funds go to a worthwhile cause.