Cows for Christmas
What did you find under your tree this year? For the Village Health Works the holiday celebrations were particularly mooving...see what we did there?
On December 22nd, the team in Kigutu welcomed two new, four-legged members of the family. Our new cows are cross-bred with domestic and imported stock to produce the highest quality milk. Sadly, this means they are not readily available for purchase in our area. You can imagine, then, that we were thrilled to discover our new heifers were both expecting!
The first-born calf came in on the coat tails of the New Year and as such, the staff decided her name could only be Yamwaka, meaning “Of the New Year” in Kirundi, the local language of Burundi.
A traditional sign of prosperity in Burundi, cows serve an important function in local economies. A single cow can provide milk for 5 families – a calorie and nutrient rich supplement to otherwise limited diets.
Cows play a great role in the local community culture. Until recently, dowries were negotiated and paid in the form of cows. The dowry not only helps to cement the relationship between the bride and groom’s families, but also serves to reinforce traditional family roles.
Our cows have big futures ahead of them. Our new bovine companions will play an integral role in the Food Security Program by making delicious, healthful dairy options available to malnourished patients and the community more broadly while agricultural training students will get hands-on training in animal husbandry.Though cows aren’t often literally exchanged, the figurative power of these negotiations remains a staple of Burundian wedding ceremonies. In many ways, these cows serve to further cement our “marriage” to the community.
Once the cows are ready, Village Health Works will launch a chaine de solidarité, whereby one community member accepts a Village Health Works cow on the condition that they give at least one of her offspring to another community member in need.
Truly, these little heifers are one gift that will keep on giving.
