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WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
11
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
CHAR I TY CHAL L ENGE
A farming charity in Rwanda
does more than just send cows
Last year, to celebrate XLVets’ 10 year anniversary, XLVets staff
and 53 member practices embarked on various challenges to
raise money for charity. They sought sponsorship to travel
‘around the world’ and variously walked, ran, cycled, kayaked
and swam a total of 34,727 miles.
Veterinary surgeon
Alex Cooper
XLVets practice
Fenton Veterinary
Practice
ALEX COOPER, FENTON VETERINARY PRACTICE
A keyhole garden
The money raised went to local charities
selected by the practices, and also to an
international farming charity – Send a Cow –
which supports Rwandan families. Alex Cooper
from XLVets’ Fenton Veterinary Practice in
Pembrokeshire raised the most money
individually in the challenge – nearly £2,000 –
and was invited by the charity to visit some of
the projects being run.
A better life
Despite its name, the charity does a lot more
than just give cows (or goats, rabbits and
bees) to farmers.
Alex explains: 'Send a Cow helps very poor
families – some of whom have an income of
less than 1US$/day – to become self-sufficient
in food for themselves, and to gain the
confidence to be able to manage their lives
and the livestock.
'The underlying aim is to teach families to
firstly become self-sufficient, and then to be
able to sell any surplus food so they can have
an income to improve their homes, educate
their children, and, in some areas, connect to
the mains water supply. Some farmers have
gone on to form co-operatives to sell their
produce, and are employing other people in
the community.
Environmental management and sustainability
are key features of the Send a Cow projects;
families are helped to build rainwater
collecting tanks to conserve water. They also
work with other charities to provide solar lamps
which saves the expense of buying kerosene
for gas lamps.
Keyhole garden
Many families that Alex visited had created
a keyhole garden in their front yard in
which to grow vegetables – peppers, celery,
squash, cabbages and some local varieties.
’Every available space and old container
had been used,’ explains Alex. ’The keyhole
technique helps to improve the soil through
composting and also aids moisture retention.
The sloping sides increase the available
area for growing crops.
‘Less than a year into the project the family
were now self-sufficient in vegetables and
were selling any surplus. Before the project,
they would have just kept the area swept.
‘Giving people the skills to work and
cultivate land that they already have
access to is a cornerstone of the project.‘