More than 96,000 vulnerable farmers benefit from former ‘send a cow’ project

Elias Hakizimana Jan 27, 2023Jan 27, 2023 0 Comments

By Elias Hakizimana.

At least 96,015 Rwandan farmers were empowered by Ripple Effect Rwanda, formerly known as send a cow that lifted them out of poverty through relevant data and training to enable them grow more and sell more.

Testimonies of beneficiaries were presented on Thursday, January 26, 2023, in Kigali during an official launch of Ripple Effect Rwanda’s strategic plan for 2030 that targets to lift 750,000 Rwandans out of poverty.

The launch coincided the unveiling of ‘Ripple Effect Rwanda’, the new name for Send a Cow Rwanda.

“We have impacted positively the lives of many. Between 2016 and 2020, we transformed the lives of 96,015 people- empowering them with relevant data and training to enable them grow more and sell more.” said Laurent Munyankusi, Country Director, Ripple Effect Rwanda.

Munyankusi explains that the initiative was developed to respond to some major problems that affect the country’s social economic development, including small land that is overused most of the time by its huge population, resulting into less food productivity, children stunting, food insecurity (20 percent) as of now, and (38 percent) of people who still live below the poverty line.

**Laurent Munyankusi, Country Director, Ripple Effect Rwanda speaking during the launch of the 2030 strategic plan and RIPPLE EFFECT, new name of send a cow Rwanda. /Courtesy photo.**

He said that they established the initiative to give smallholder farmers of the first and second categories of ‘Ubudehe’ social scheme as part of solutions to help them graduate from poverty.

“Apart from giving them cows, we trainined them on best agricultural practices and integrated animal management. We also trained them on financial literacy, especially the role of saving and investing in value addition to make the little means they have more productive in quantity and quality,” he said.

He noted that the initiative also targets to help key beneficiaries including persons with disabilities, youth and women.

Commenting on the initiative, Dr Usta KAYITESI, Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) said that the country needs support of partners like Ripple Effect Rwanda to eradicate poverty among its citizens.

**Dr Usta KAYITESI, Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) addressing participants at the event. / Courtesy photo.**

“Ripple Effect is obvious, I want to congratulate you to meet the mission of lifting citizens out of poverty, we want a healthy and wealthy population as the driving force of socio-economic development. Our government is very much articulated earlier, this is the moment we need to be together, work together to pursue big ambitions,” Dr Kayitesi noted.

Ripple Effect Rwanda looks at continuing to support one cow per family program and tirelessly enhancing farmers’ income generation in its 2030 strategic agenda. They target to raise Rwf22billion by 2030.

Dr Usta KAYITESI, Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) handing over the certificate with the new name ‘RIPPLE EFFECT RWANDA’ to *Laurent Munyankusi, Country Director, Ripple Effect Rwanda* to replace Send a Cow Rwanda.

Beneficiaries’ testimonies

Gaudence Mukandayisenga, one of the beneficiaries from Ruramira Sector, Kayonza District said that her poverty situation in the past is now a history after being empowered by Ripple Effect Rwanda.

The mother of three children said life was not good before being selected to join the project’s programs.

“In our Ruramira sector, my family was on the list of the most vulnerable populations, we got four training, including one on integrated animal management, saving and investing, gender equality and kitchen garden farming. Send a Cow Rwanda helped us to eradicate poverty. I managed to grow a calf of 36 kilograms weight and it grew and gave birth. Now we get milk, 14 litters a day. We sell 10L, we drink 3L and we give 1L to a neighbour. Besides, the cow gave birth to 3 bulls that we sold at Rwf 1,250,000 to buy a land, nutrition was improved in our family, thanks to the initiative that transformed our livelihoods,” Mukandayisenga said.

**Gaudence Mukandayisenga sharing her journey with Send a Cow Rwanda empowerment in life transformation. / Courtesy photo.**

Elizaphane Ntirenganya, another beneficiary from Nyanza District, Kibirizi Sector in Southern Province also narrated his poverty history, saying that he used to cultivate for neighbours to get milk back in 2009.

After being trained on how to increase produce on small land in 2010 by Send a Cow, he got field trips to boost this knowledge and, in 2011, he was given a cow that gave birth to 11 bulls. “I sold them and used the money for expanding agriculture activities. I joined colleagues in saving association, I can grow 5 tons of maize and 3 tons of rice, this is wealth and money, I have three saving bank accounts and I graduated from the 1^st to the 3^rd Ubudehe category,” he said with smiles.