Uganda (MNN) — In rural Uganda, roughly
40% of the people live in abject poverty.
Meals are uncertain, as is education.
For those children who are fortunate enough to
live near a school or participate in a sponsorship project, it is likely that
the only food they get is at school because there is nothing to eat at home.
There are no jobs available, and
there is no money to relocate to where there are jobs.
The land is tired, drought-ridden, and crops
don't grow. AIDS is
killing off the adults and leaving an orphan crisis in its wake. Malaria
is both a constant threat and a daily reality.
It was against that backdrop of
despair that IN Network launched the Uganda Animal project five years ago at
the Buikwe School in the small fishing village of Kiyindi.
While sponsored children and
families have hope for the future, the Animal Project was another way to
further a sustainable impact for them.
Here's how it works: a family
undergoes a six-week training program and they prepare to be owners by planting
grass and building a small shelter. The animal is inoculated and dewormed to
make sure it will stay healthy.
Take, for example, a cow. When a family gets one, they use the milk to
feed the family and the manure to improve their crops. They can also sell the excess milk for income
to provide for their other needs. The first of the animal offspring is given
back to the Animal Project to help another family. Further offspring belongs to
the family to share or sell.
The Animal Project at Buikwe was
so successful at providing hope to families that International Needs is
expanding the project to help families at the Kiyindi school with a first
sustainable step out of poverty.
Through this project, the local
church is empowered with resources so that they can bring the Gospel alive in
their communities. Because of this
partnership, IN Network can disciple people in their relationship with Jesus Christ.
