Civil war, frequent droughts, HIV and AIDS – the people of northern Kenya have had to cope with too much. People lost their livestock and their livelihoods – plenty lost their lives. Oxfam distributed new livestock to a ‘priority list’ including the physically disabled – people like Eunice Suter, of Sobero village.
But sourcing and giving an animal is only half the story.
Because of this gift, all the animals have had a thorough health check before being passed on. We made sure that the animals are healthy, and fit to multiply to ensure that the project has a longer life – and the lucky families would get extra animals to trade.
We also trained mobile ‘Paravets’ and equipped them with medical kits to assist when needed. All this is good news for the animals, and great news for Eunice who got a cow – which was vaccinated and de-wormed before she received it.
She said: “I am disabled... I was given a calf and the proceeds from the milk have allowed me to open a small kiosk. I have not begged again. I want to say to Oxfam, ‘God bless you, and may your cows and goats bear twins.’”
That’s Oxfam Unwrapped: always positively vetted…