This gift in action
Most households in rural Tanzania keep a few chickens, but Oxfam is helping people increase the size of their flocks.
And thanks to a little Oxfam training in basic animal care, disease control and poultry husbandry, small-scale farmers like Liku and her husband, Maheda have gone from scratching a living to becoming successful breeders.
In fact, many more people in Mwabayanda village are beginning to realise the potential of their birds to provide a secure future.
Liku and Maheda's flock has grown from five to 70 chickens. And this diversification from their previous cash crops of maize and rice has brought numerous benefits, as have some elementary business skills.
Now, selling their chickens at double the profit, they are earning enough to pay their children's school fees and for books and uniforms. They have also been able to rent an additional three acres of land to increase their cereal production, which means they can grow enough to feed their family for the year. Plus, they often have a surplus to sell.
They have also exchanged a number of their chickens for four breeding goats (whose numbers have since risen to eight) which provide milk and plenty of manure for Liku and Maheda's fields which means that they can grow even more.