More Travels - With Send a cow in Zambia



African Wecome

 

MORE OF PAUL’S AFRICAN TRAVELS

Send a Cow Zambia:  Having picked people’s pockets for years for Send a Cow, one  objective of my journey was to to find out if the reality on the ground was as good as the charity’s literature portrayed it.  I was invited to travel to Eastern Province to visit some projects.  Arriving in Lusaka from the other end of the country, first I visited the offices to meet Petronella, the operation manager.  She had a hectic programme planned out for me with the local staff and extension workers, and gave me a full and knowledgeable briefing on Send a Cow Zambia.  I wondered if I was going to keep up mentally or physically!

Journeying Mercies:  After a late night repacking, early morning saw me at Lusaka airport fretting whether they would allow my 25 Kg of baggage on the 12 seater toy aircraft whose ticket clearly said 15Kg only.  We trooped out to the plane then back again – it was faulty.  A few minutes later we were sent out to a smart 30 seater instead.  Baggage?  No worries, my Guardian Angel was at work again.

A smooth 90 minute flight saw us at Chipata, capital of Eastern Province in pleasant green hilly country to be met by my host and guide Musanide.   We dumped my luggage in the Rest Lodge and set off for our first visit, about 30 miles of quite decent tar road with hundreds of heavily-laden bicycles, then 15 of red gravel.  

What a Welcome:  Arriving at the village we were met by a crowd of brightly dressed women dancing, ululating and singing their special Send a Cow song.  They led us to their meeting area and introduced the members of Yobe Mbuzi Dairy Cow Project.   The Chairman and Secretary gave reports.  Their group started in 2002 with 27 member families but made slow progress until 2005 when they heard a program on radio about Send a Cow.  They wrote to the local office and were chosen for training. Now just 20 families, they learnt about animal care, worked  together to build cow houses with yards and grow fodder.  In 2007 they received 15 cows and two bulls.  Since then 5 heifers have been passed on to those who did not receive. 

Food all the year round! All 20 families have obviously benefitted greatly from milk consumption and sales, sale of steers and use of manure on gardens and field crops.  One member has been trained as a Paravet to give simple health care to keep the animals healthy. Several families have been able to build weather-proof brick houses.  All say they have been able to buy farming inputs and improve their crops to achieve year round food security.

Both men and women were articulate about the benefits they had seen.  Typical comments:  “Working together (with Send a Cows help) has helped us make peace and harmony” , “we now can discuss things in our family and make decisions and budget together”,  “we women now have respect because we can feed our children and earn money”.

Doing What it says on the Packet!   I went on to see projects with cattle for ploughing and milk, dairy goats and goats for meat.  Some were just starting, some well established and had passed on numbers of animals to start another group.  All were proud of their efforts and were improving their land and gardens, houses, health, and sending children to school.  The change in their morale, gender relations and working together seemed to be crucial to them.  Whenever I mentioned Send a Cow to others it was well known, I got positive reactions, and other groups were copying the model, especially the “Pass it on” principle.  From all I saw, I can say that Send a Cow is living up to its publicity.

Regina - Send a Cow Beneficiary

Here is Regina’s story in her own words.  “Five year ago my life was very difficult.  I lived in a mud house that leaked.  I had three children  but none were in school.  We did not have enough to eat and my children got sick.  I had some land but I was too weak to dig it.  I had to work in another village but hardly got any money.  I had to get help from my Mother to live. 

From Send a Cow we learnt how to keep animals properly, and I have learnt to budget my money.  With the money from the cow’s milk my life is much changed.  My older children are in school and we have nice clothes.  All the family eat well and keep well. Now I support my Mother and other family. Almost all my land is cultivated now and I am planting trees.  I have got respect in the society and human dignity.  People ask about my garden so I tell them how to use manure to grow better crops.  My young brother has finished school and I am helping him set up a “butik” (boutique,clothes shop) in town.

If someone has not heard of Send a Cow I would say to them ”My Dear you are late, Send a Cow has changed my life!”. I really thank them.  Before, I sat on the mud floor with my children.  Now I have blankets and we sit on chairs. We have a TV and a bicycle and a mobile phone.”