YIMBA UGANDA- GOAT LOAN PROJECT:
To bring in the new year, Yimba Uganda put together a new project to provide
assistance to widows and young mothers living rural villages. We had always loved
the idea of ‘Micro-finance loans’ as they not only provide women with capital
to start a business but also focus on education; teaching women how to save,
budget and organise themselves to be financially independent. The program richly
empowers the women, as they are not receiving handouts, but in order for them
to truly benefit from the program they too have a responsibility to make an
effort. We had seen firsthand how beneficial the loan scheme was and wanted to
put together something similar. This is when we came up with the idea of a ‘Goat
Loan Project’.
The Project was sponsored by Australians;
Helen, Barry and The Bowen’s family from Healesville, Victoria. As the project
is still in its experimental stages, we decided we would start small, but
continue to develop the project as time goes on, as we learn the most efficient
ways in which to manage it successfully. With the greatly appreciated assistance
from our sponsors, Yimba Uganda was able to purchase five goats, two of which
were heavily pregnant. The project is taking place in the small village of
Wairaka within the District of Jinja. We decided to partner with an Austrian/Ugandan
Community Based Organisation called ‘Nurturing Uganda’, who have a great
knowledge of the area and share an intimate relationship with the members of
the community. After a consultation with the Director of the organisation; Ivan
Waraba, we were connected to a widow in the community named Stella; a Ugandan
lady living within Wairaka, who showed great determination and hard work when
involved in Nurturing Uganda’s Micro-finance loan program, using the money from
her loan to begin an income generating business in livestock. As Stella is an very active member of the
community, she was given the roll of selecting appropriate women for the
project. The program was primarily directed at vulnerable widows and young/
single mothers who are struggling in this small village. The women were
selected based on their current situation, their level of maturity and their
ability to care for the goat; a suitable compound or home in which the goat is
safe, with access to grazing etc.
After five women were selected, they were
each given a goat. However, Yimba Uganda holds complete ownership over the goats
and the women are given the responsibility of caring for the goat until it
produces its first kid. Once the first kid is weened it will then be returned
to the Organisation and the women will be given sole ownership over the initial
goat, and can do with it as they please. Although, we are encouraging the women
to hold onto the goat, using it to generate an income to support themselves and
their families through continued sale of the goat’s offspring, or own use/sale
of goat’s milk. Once the kid goats have been returned to the organisation the
female goats will be given to the next widow, while the male goats will be
sold, using the profits to purchase more female goats, and so the cycle
continues.
The primary focus of this project is education
and empowerment. Because the goats do not initially belong to the women, in
order to obtain ownership they must care for the goat for at least 150 days.
During this time, we hope that the women will not only learn how to care for
the goats, but adopt a long term vision; the possibilities associated with
nurturing the goat to increase productivity. Value is also added to the goats,
as the women had to work hard to care for it. By doing this the women are left
with a sense of dignity and pride, as they have achieved something through
their hard work, rather than just accepting a generous handout.
Upon receiving the goats, the first group of
women showed great appreciation, and were determined to successfully complete
the program. So far the program has been successful, with two goats ready to
give birth any day now. The team at Yimba Uganda are very excited about this
project and hope the women take full advantage of the great opportunity in
front of them. We can’t wait to see the results of this project, and see how
such a simple project can change the lives of vulnerable women and their
families.
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| Our Director, Emmanuel explaining to the women what the project is all about. |
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| Women eagerly choosing the best goats. |
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| Showing great appreciation to our sponsors who made this project a reality. |
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| Sending out a big THANKYOU to Hedgend Maze in Australia. |
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| The Bowens family, with a special mention to Gen a 12 year old girl who donated some of her pocket money to purchase a goat. How amazing! |
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| The women and their goats. |
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| Emmanuel and Stella. |
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| Yimba Uganda Team. |
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| The women walking the goats home. |
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| This goats new home :) |
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| Stella in front of her house. |
Want to get involved? We will continuously be inviting new women to join this program, and through the generous sponsorship of a goat, the lives of many women will never remain the same. The sponsorship of a goat is roughly 100,000 UGS each which is equivalent to $45.00 Australian dollars.
For any donations please contact:
yimbauganda@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/Yimba-Uganda
yimba-uganda.blogspot.com.au
Uganda: Emmanuel Kusaasira Edwin
P/O Box 15209
Kampala Uganda
+256 774 292 525
Australia: Anne-Marie Reddan
20 Farnham Road Healesville 3777
+61 431 736 118
-Yimba Uganda
#lovetotheworld
