Gir’inka ‘is Godsend’

HUYE – Antoinette Umubyeyi, 35, believes she has greatly benefited from the cattle stocking programme popularly known as ‘Gir’inka.’She is among many vulnerable residents, countrywide, who have received cows from government and is grateful. Despite some perception that the cows consume a lot, Umubyeyi believes otherwise.Umubyeyi, a widow and mother of two, received a heifer from the government a year ago and testifies that since she received it, her family’s well being has drastically changed for the better. The woman, who lives in Tare Cell, Mbazi Sector, one of the rural parts of Huye District, says her farm’s output has tripled since she received the cow.”“Before, I could hardly produce enough food to feed my family. But now we eat and have a surplus to sell. I could have never reached such a high productivity had I not received the cow.The programme, introduced in 2006, seeks to reduce child malnutrition rates and increase household income among poor farmers. Through Gir’inka, vulnerable families are offered cows with the aim of helping them to improve their welfare.Six years down the road, the benefits of the programme in changing lives of rural Rwandans are unfolding.Officials at the Ministry of Agriculture say the programme is a huge success.According to Dr Clarisse Ingabire, the Programme Coordinator, “Girinka is transforming rural livelihoods and has contributed a lot in poverty reduction.”Dr Ingabire says that the programme has become a success in the country’s quest to improve living conditions among the population.“The beneficiaries are the ones to testify about its impact in their lives,” she says.“The very people who lived miserably are now the ones who have gained the capacities to pay for the community health insurance, pay for their children’s education and meet other basic needs without waiting for external support,” Ingabire told The New Times in an interview.“Malnutrition has been curbed and children have good health than in the past years. All this is the testimony of the impact this programme is having in the Rwandan society.”According to Ingabire, the programme has also enabled families to start income generating activities.“We have seen people acquiring new plots of land and practice modern agriculture, while others have started other businesses like photography. Others have acquired mattresses or other equipment“Those who were considered as poor are now living a better life”, she observes.Apart from the socio-economic transformation of people’s lives, Dr Ingabire says the One Cow per Poor Family programme (Gir’inka) has also enhanced social cohesion.“Those who received the cows became at some point donors and this contributes a lot towards building strong ties between people.”To date, more than 120,989 families have benefited from the programme and the target is to distribute cows to at least 350,000 poor families by 2015 countrywide.

National

Gir’inka ‘is Godsend’