EASTERN PROVINCE RWAMAGANA — At least 56 residents who had received cows under One-Cow-One Family, have passed on heifers to other area residents in Rwamagana. The One-Cow-One Family programme, is a brain child of President Paul Kagame, under which citizens get cows and pass on the produced calves to others. “Those who received cows last year are the ones donating cows to other families today,” said Dr Theogen Rutagwenda, the Director General Rwanda Animal Resource Development Authority (RARDA). Speaking as chief guest, at ASPEJ Muhazi, Dr Rutagwenda observed that when the president initiated the idea and started giving out cows to one citizen, many people thought the programme would not succeed. He noted however, that today it has become a reality and residents who received cows in the first phase have started donating to fellow residents. “The programme will succeed and benefit many others,” he said. The ceremony was attended by a number of residents, RARDA officials, district officials as well as representatives from Heifer International. He explained that it is the President’s wish that cows extend to as many residents as possible as one way of alleviating poverty. Madolena Madamu, a resident who passed over a cow testified that she had witnessed positive changes in life after receiving a cow in December 2006. “I accumulated a lot of manure which I used in my fields prompting improvement in my harvests. I am happy because I used the money I got from selling milk to install electricity at my house,” Madolena told The New Times in an interview. Dr. Charles Kayumba, Director General Heifer International, stressed that beneficiaries should comply and give out the very first calf the cow produces, for the chain to continue. It is then that the first beneficiary gains total ownership of the mother cow. Odette Mutetiri who received a jersey No: 921236 promised to give it the best care she could in order to reap much out of it. In a separate interview, Dr. Kayumba, revealed that Heifer International has so far donated 238 cows to residents of Rwamagana. Ends
