Nyaruguru district Mayor in Southern Rwanda, François Habitegeko, has said the country’s “Gira inka” (one cow per family) has helped the district, not only in changing mentality of the local population but also in reducing the level of malnutrition over the last two years.
The Mayor made the remarks at the Ndago district premises on Monday in a press conference. Executive secretaries of Nyaruguru’s 14 sectors and heads of different units in the district were present as well.
“ Gira inka [own a cow] programme minimized poverty and improved nutrition amongst families,” confessed the Mayor. He said malnutrition is not a problem anymore while the vulnerable population got access to manure for their crops.
Meanwhile, residents testify on achievements from Girinka.
“The cows avail dung which we use as manure for our crops, we get money through selling milk and our children enjoy an improved diet because of milk,” said 52 year old Josephine Uwodusaba.
Nyaruguru district official statistics of 2012 show malnutrition having reduced from 5.8 per cent to 0.23 per cent amongst children aged 0-5 years, in a year’s time.
Mayor Habitegeko credits Gira inka programme, for the achievement because ; dung acts as manure for yard vegetable gardens in most households, among the other achievements of owning cattle in families.
To date, 7,241 cows have been handed over to vulnerable families across Nyaruguru under the Gira inka programme.
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame launched the Gira inka programme back in 2006 under what the country terms as “homegrown solutions”.
And according to President Kagame’s official website, “the programme is both a tribute to the Rwandan culture as well as an effective means to increase the economic status of the less privileged….This project is conducted with the full participation of the community through Ubudehe − a community program based on the tradition of mutual assistance. With the community’s knowledge of those most economically vulnerable, Ubudehe allows the community to choose the beneficiaries of the Gira Inka program…”
Some local media reports suggest that, as of 2011, 117,460 cows had been distributed across the country under the “one-cow-per- poor family” policy, best known as Gira inka programme.