Every morning they give their rabbits food and water. They clean the rabbits' hutch, too. When they get home from school, they will have to do it all over again before they can play. It didn't take long when there were just the two rabbits. But now there are 20! It's a big job and an important one. If the hutches aren't cleaned every day, the rabbits might get sick.

A rural carpenter makes rabbit hutches. Photo: Ho Farms Project/Chana for CWS

Helene and Kojo live in Ghana, West Africa. Their rabbits are part of a farm project supported by the Church World Service Tools & Blankets Program. They raise rabbits to eat and to sell. In Ghana, rabbits are valuable. One rabbit is worth more than a whole day's wages for the average farmer.

Money from the sale of rabbits helped Helene and Kojo's family build a small house.

"My rabbits are like money in the bank," says their mother. "They pay for my children's school books and uniforms, too."

Rabbits multiply quickly and are a good animal to raise where there is not much pasture land. Some of the rabbits are later given back to the project so other families can start raising rabbits for food and money as well.

Jesus called his disciples and said to them, "My heart goes out to these people; they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry; they might faint on the way.   Matthew 15:32

• Have you ever been hungry? What was it like?
• Read, or ask your parent or teacher to read to you, the story of Jesus feeding the multitude (Matthew 15:32-38). Why was Jesus so concerned that people have enough to eat? What was Jesus trying to teach us?
• How does the gift of rabbits from CWS help Helene and Kojo's family have enough to eat? How many rabbits are on the poster?
• Talk with your friends, teachers, parents about how you can help feed hungry people, too.
• Make up a prayer for your family to use before eating.