Bóthar’s Uganda field representative Juliet Naiga sends on a report on one family who received an Irish dairy goat from Bóthar in January 2011.
Ndihamaka Meresiano, a 62 year old woman lives in the Kabale district of Uganda. She is married to Edward and they have three children, 3 girls and 1 boy. What follows is Ndihamaka’s story, which tells us how her life changed after she entered the Bóthar programme.
“Before I was selected for the Bóthar training programme, we were struggling. Trying to exist on a meagre income that I received from selling potatoes. With little income, we struggled to provide food, which led to poor nutrition and often the children would become ill as they were not eating properly.”
Life was rough and getting tougher for Ndihamaka. She wanted to give her children an education, give them a better life.
In September 2008, Ndihamaka came to know about Bóthar through a meeting with the Bóthar chairperson who deemed her a suitable candidate and she joined the project.
Before she could receive the animal, an in-kid dairy goat, she started training and made preparations in their home to receive the animal, including sanitation and family hygiene, nutrition, pasture establishment and management, vegetable growing, integrated animal husbandry practices as well as crop management practices.
“The goat droppings provide manure, which has led to higher yields from the vegetables we are growing in the garden.”
As is Bóthar tradition, the first-born female was passed on to another needy family who are waiting to receive the animal. Now Ndihamaka plans also to mobilise other women to join the project so as to be empowered like her.
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