KAYONZA-Inter-church Youth Foundation (IYF), a local NGO, donated 48 exotic cows, worth Rwf20m, to cooperative farmers in the sectors of Ndego, Rwinkwavu, Murama and Kabare in Kayonza District.

Pastor Charles Ngarambe, the head of IYF Rwanda, said that they targeted cooperatives formed by people living with HIV/Aids, and those in dire need of support.

 "This part of Rwanda is well known for farming...so the cows will multiply quickly. There is no problem of pasture, as is the case in other parts of the country, and the veterinary officers are within their reach.”

"The beneficiaries were carefully selected by local leaders to avoid giving the cows to wrong people. It is strictly the neediest in the community who are supposed to benefit”.

Ildephonse Nahimana, one of the beneficiaries and a leader of a cooperative composed of people living with HIV, said that the cows would help them in their daily lives.

He said that a person living with HIV/Aids needs proteins, especially milk. "This place gets very hot during the dry season...so for our us, the milk will quench our thirst and give us life,” he said.

The District Mayor, John Mugabo, who presided over the event, said that poverty will soon be history in rural Kayonza.

Mugabo noted that the various the government programmes will, no doubt, propel Rwandans to economic emancipation.

"It is now upon you to choose between remaining poor or getting rich. You have been given what it takes to be prosperous, so don’t take this chance for granted,” he said.

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