A happy girinka beneficiary attends to her cow
Residents in Kamonyi district have commended Girinka, a programme initiated by H.E Paul Kagame in 2006 as a tool to fight extreme poverty for improving their livelihoods.
The cows are handed to the destitute families has improved their nutrition, generate income through the sale of surplus milk and manure.
Beneficiaries of the Girinka program are able to provide themselves with the basic necessities, send their children to school and pay medical insurance (Mutuelle de Sante). The program also helps local farmers improve soil fertility with the manure they get from the cow.
Some of the direct support beneficiaries
Girinka aims at reducing child malnutrition rates and increasing household incomes of poor farmers.
Beneficiaries revealed this on January, 28, when Deputies Alphonsine Mukarugema and Clotilde Mukakarangwa visited residents in Kayumbu sector of Kamonyi district.
Anastasie Nyiramuruta, 71 from Giko sector revealed that she has a health condition that required her daily intake of milk, saying it was hard for her to get milk three years ago to access milk but today she owns a cow.
“I get milk and use manure to increase my farm crop yields. I harvest 100 kgs of beans from my garden compared to 20kgs I could harvest before using manure,” she added.
Salumoni Bavukiriki, 89, one of the direct support beneficiary mentioned that he would have died with his wife if it was not for direct support support.
“I would have died of hunger, if I wasn’t made direct support beneficiary. My wife and I buy food and clothes from the money given to us under direct support,” said Bavukiriki.
Different beneficiaries of Umurenge Vision program testified they have acquired livestock, built houses, contribute for community health insurance easily in addition to taking care of other needs.
Direct support beneficiaries in Kayumbu sector formed a cooperative dubbed “Ntugasaze” and built a commercial house worth Rwf15 in addition to starting a piggery project.
Like her colleagues, Annonciata Mukansangana commended VUP saying she is now employed and saved money to buy a house and set up a small income generating activities.
Ever since 2011, VUP has injected over Rwf250 million to help over 3500 homes as direct support, public works and financial services.
On the other hand, girinka program has reached up to 549 households ever since its introduction in 2006.