Who are Send a Cow? Send a Cow was founded by a group Christian dairy farmers over 30 years ago. The charity was formed in response to prayer. No one ever expected that Send a Cow would become the force for change that it has become today. Originally, the first cows were flown out to Uganda. They believed the milk would make a difference to families suffering from malnourishment, post civil war. It has very much evolved since then. Today, livestock is only a small part of what we do, and where livestock is placed it is sourced locally. We now work in 6 African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Zambia. In the rural communities where we work, many people have to grow all of their own food, as they don’t have the money to buy it. We help to provide training so that people can grow their own futures - on their own land, on their own terms.

The importance of harvest Unfortunately, finding enough to eat is a real struggle for a lot of families in Africa. Sometimes they only have enough food to eat once a day. However, when they are supported to grow a range of crops that can feed them all year, families can thrive. Send a Cow helps families to make the most of their farms by providing seeds, tools and training. With these things families can grow enough food, sell their vegetables at market and make money to buy medicines and send their children to school.

Meet Nadine This is Nadine, she lives with her family in Rwanda. Nadine is three years old and has two older brothers, who are 9 and 12. Her mum also has another baby on the way. The family live on a small plot of land and before they joined a Send a Cow project they were only eating one meal a day. Dina, Nadine’s mum, used to own a cow but was forced to sell it when they didn’t have enough money to feed Nadine, who was just a baby at the time. Since then Dina hasn’t been able to buy any more animals for their farm. Nadine’s parents weren’t able to finish school themselves because their families couldn’t afford essentials like pens, books, shoes, uniforms and school fees for them. Their biggest wish now is for all of their children to eat well, grow strong and complete school.

Harvest video Watch Send a Cow’s Harvest video by clicking on the image. (If the video doesn’t play if you hover over it and press the play button, open an internet window and use this link https://vimeo.com/341973926)

Did you know? Send a Cow trains families how to make the most of their land so that their vegetables will grow well and they will have enough to eat, as well as enough left over to sell. Here are a few examples of what families will learn to do:   1. They plant seeds in Keyhole gardens (raised beds) which provide good, soil for their vegetables to grow in. 2. They use compost to helps the vegetables grow better. Compost also helps the soil to retain moisture. This is especially important where the land is infertile and dry. 3. They learn about water harvesting – attaching a drainpipe from their roofs to a water butt, just as many of us do here in the UK. This will help provide lots of water for their vegetables to grow. 4. They learn to how to retain moisture in the soil by covering seedlings with straw or banana leaves. This also helps protect the seedlings from being eaten by bugs.

You can make a difference! Just £100 could provide farm training and enough seeds and materials to enable 10 families to grow a sustainable supply of coffee plants You can help families like Nadine’s to grow enough food to eat, to be healthy and to send their children to school. There are lots of ways that your church can get involved and raise money to provide families like Nadine’s with seeds, training, materials and maybe even a cow! Here’s how you could make a difference: £100 could provide farm training and enough seeds and materials to enable 10 families to grow a sustainable supply of coffee plants.   £350 could provide a community group with farm training and enough seeds and materials to build a shared plant nursery, including coffee plants and fruit trees. £650 could fund a dairy cow, providing a vital source of manure and milk for a farming family.

Thank you! Thanks to churches like yours Nadine and her family will be able to eat three healthy meals a day, learn how to make the most of their land and invest in their farm. With varied crops, bountiful harvests and animals on their farm they will be able to thrive. Thank you for choosing to support Send a Cow this Harvest. We hope you have a wonderful time celebrating Harvest with your congregation.