45 beneficiaries of cows offered by the Rwandan Red Cross (RRC) have just given, in turn, heifers to their poor neighbours. The scene is in Mahama sector, Kirehe district. They are thus moving out of the category of the destitute and becoming partners in development.
By a game of chance, 130 poor farmers in Kirehe district, Mahama sector were selected a few years ago. They were each given a heifer, sometimes pregnant. Their lives have changed and some of them are at the stage of helping others. This is the case of Gabriel Bemejwenande, aged 59.
“I received a cow that gave birth to a bull calf. I sold it for 250,000 frws (209 Euros),” explains Gabriel Bemejwenande. “I grew maize as usual, but this time the production was very good because I had fertilized my field with compost,” reveals Bemejwenande. “After selling my crop, I earned 350,000 frws (over 292 Euro). In total I had 600,000 frws (more than 502 Euro) in my account,” he says. “With this money I bought another cow for 500,000 frws (more than 418 Euro),” he shows how he got out of poverty. “The remaining money was used to buy medicines and other family expenses,” he justifies his spending.
Bemejwenande points out that the cow he received from the RRC, after the bullock, gave him a heifer, which he offered to his needy neighbour in a rotation system. His father-in-law gave him a gift of a third cow. He now has three cows, all pregnant.
“I am no longer a pauper because I own three cows,” he boasts. “Every morning I sell milk and in the evening we milk for family consumption,” he says. “On Saturday, the Sabbath day, I do not trade. I give the milk I produce to those in need,” he says.
Other beneficiaries become partners of the Rwandan Red Cross
In addition to Gabriel Bemejwenande, more than 40 beneficiaries of the RRC have given their neighbours visibly healthy heifers.
Claudius Karahamuheto, executive secretary of Mahama sector, says they are following up. “Looking at the cows handed over to the vulnerable population, they are in good health,” he notes. “We are monitoring the daily lives of the beneficiaries to see how they are practicing livestock and the step they have taken in the fight against poverty,” says Executive Secretary Karahamuheto.
“The agricultural production of these farmers has improved, their children had a nutrition problem and sometimes even the adults. They have gained in nutrition, and income is being earned in their respective families, through the marketing of agro-livestock products,” says Karahamuheto.
Damarse Ngiriyamuremye, a resident of Ruhondo, Munini cell, Mahama sector acknowledges the changes in his life. “Before I received a cow, I had become old. My vision had deteriorated. Since I started drinking milk regularly, I have become young again, I can see very well” she says.
Her agricultural production has improved significantly. “I used to farm four plots of land with a low yield. Now two plots of land have been given over to fodder crops. Two others are used for food crops and are enough for me to live on with the use of manure,” she boasts.
Such beneficiaries are no longer considered needy because they are at the stage of helping others. The RRC has awarded them a certificate of merit for their good management of the aid received.
Gérard Rugambwa
