These versatile animals can help secure a family’s future. Cows provide milk to help feed the family and to sell at market, plus manure for fertiliser. What’s more, when a cow has a calf it can be sold to pay for essentials such as school fees and medical expenses.

In Eastern Khatlon in Tajikistan, cows funded by Oxfam Unwrapped have helped people to increase their family income. People have also formed livestock groups where they learn about dairy processing and marketing milk products.

Odinaeva’s story

Odinaeva Muhabbat from Lagmon village in Kulyab says: 'My husband does some daily wage labour in the village, he makes bricks from mud and sells them in the village, I am working in the cotton fields and receive only 20-30 somoni per month. We have kitchen garden where we grow vegetables. This year we got one cow from Oxfam. Our cow has produced a calf and now we have milk for our kids. I am so happy, that I have this cow.'

Kurbongul’s story

Kurbongul Abdulloeva says: 'Oxfam gave us one cow from which already we have got one calf. For all my life we dreamed to have the cow milk. And now I am thankful that we have milk in our house, and our children have milk since wintertime. Oxfam also organised training in livestock breeding and disease prevention. This knowledge will be useful in my life and especially in my livestock breeding work. I am very happy, that our family now has a cow; this contributes hugely to the prosperity of our family and to the other poor families in my village.'