Milwaukee nonprofit aimed at empowering youth 'devastated' after 4 goats were reportedly stolen off property

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- For the last 30 years, Our Next Generation has worked year-round to empower children in the Milwaukee community through academic enrichment.

The local non-profit helps support students from the first grade all the way to the twelfth.

Nearly four years ago, Tamahl Hazelwood, the director of programs, received a call inquiring about adding goats to their organization to help teach youth about urban farming and ecology.

“Students can actually be like their shepherds. They can actually nurture them, make sure they have enough water, enough food and so on and so forth," Hazelwood told CBS 58's Ellie Nakamoto-White. "It kind of gave them a sense of responsibility and accountability.”

Now, seven goats live in the backyard of the non-profit's building, including multiple "bottle babies" -- ones Hazelwood said rely on the students for nutrients.

But on Saturday, July 20, Hazelwood said he had received a disturbing call.

"One of our partners that lives in the area said we're missing some goats, some goats are gone," Hazelwood recalled. "That was a big shock to not only Our Next Generation as an organization but also just to the students and the community."

Hazelwood believes the person or people responsible pried up a part of the fenced enclosure and created an opening.

"They lured them in with regular white bread, there were remnants of that loaf of bread there," Hazelwood said. "Those goats were so paramount to the education and the happiness of the students that we serve."

Students, like 14-year-old Za'mya Onuchuku, who has participated in the group for nearly three years.

"Finding out that we lost some goats, it was kind of devastating a little," Onuchuku said. "If you just took the goats to take them and say you have goats, I don't get why because there's a whole camp of kids who love the goats."

After a police report had been filed, they were recently able to retrieve two of the four but are still on the lookout for the remaining goats.

"One of those goats was actually found in an abandoned house in the attic," Hazelwood said. "Someone else called and said some goats are roaming around freely, so the police responded and saw three of them but were only able to retrieve one and the other two ran away."

Hazelwood added that if whoever is responsible is seeing this, he hopes they will do the right thing and return the animals to their rightful owner.

Our Next Generation is located at 3421 W Lisbon Ave. and their number is 414-344-2111.