September - Send a Cow

‘Send a Cow’ works hand in hand with poor families teaching them the skills they need to build new lives free from poverty and hunger. By providing training, livestock, seeds and support, we restore hope and create stronger communities for the future. In turn, these families then pass on young livestock, seeds or training to others. And so on. And so on.

This ‘Pass it On’ principle not only builds stronger communities, it allows us to help even more people to develop skills, confidence and self respect.
People are happier and healthier, children are educated, wealth is created and communities are more harmonious.

‘Send a Cow’ doesn’t offer a quick fix solution to poverty and rural development. In for the long haul, we typically work with groups of farmers for five years to effect substantial and sustainable change.
We also acknowledge from the outset that issues such as gender equality, health and family harmony are just as vital to the success of development programmes in Africa as simple livestock provision.

So in addition to ongoing training in animal wellbeing, sustainable organic farming practices and natural resource management, our work also provides courses in subjects such as gender equality, conflict resolution, health and hygiene and HIV/Aids awareness. This balance of practical farming skills with social life skills is a potent mix and produces remarkable results.

Providing practical assistance that will last for generations to come, we support families through every step of their journey out of poverty.

‘Pass it on’ ceremonies bring whole communities together to see first-born calves, sheep, donkeys, seedlings, or even training, passed on in these emotional events.
It’s a truly inspiring event, when very poor beneficiaries become donors.
Our work gets astonishing results because we don’t just provide isolated pockets of help; our experts give advice across the board, from agricultural training to environmental sustainability, from livestock care to social development.
Working carefully with each farmer, we identify a package of support that meets their needs perfectly and which can be adapted to meet the needs of different people, whether that’s young orphans heading up the home, disabled people or elderly widows.

Importantly, we support and share a family’s journey out of poverty for as long as it takes – typically three to five years. By that time, knowledge, skills, materials, hope and dignity have been passed on and on between even more families so that whole communities are transformed.

This year we will help almost 16,000 families along on their journey out of poverty. Each of those will go on to lend a hand to an average of ten further families, restoring real hope to communities in rural Africa.

Our Vision: A world without poverty and malnutrition.

Our Mission: To enable poor rural families in Africa to attain food and livelihood security, by developing strong community groups and sustainable agricultural systems which integrate crops and livestock.

“Now my family eats three times a day, and we are able to save in case of any future shocks. I am planning to support my kids until they complete school and also to train more farmers.”

Alemu Buka Birra, Ethiopia

This article has been taken from
the ‘Send A Cow’ website:
www.sendacow.org.uk
Mary Michael