enough to eat . That every day is another day they wake up unsure if they ’ ll be able to have a meal . That every day could be the day that challenges them past the point of survival .
And that is why I ’ m in Kenya . I ’ m here with Send a Cow , a 30-year-old non-profit organization based in the U . K . I ’ m on their U . S . Board of Trustees . In my life in New Albany , I ’ m a public relations and social media consultant with a heart for nonprofit work . I ’ ve done a lot with the Presbyterian Mission Agency as a client and continue to seek out such work . I ’ m a mom of three girls . I ’ m 45 . I do CrossFit when I get there ; that ’ s usually three times a week . My world is beyond comfortable . It ’ s luxurious . And now , I ’ m ashamed and not quite sure what to do about it . It was just day one of a week-long trip to Kenya .
FIRST VISIT TO AFRICA
I ’ ve never been to Africa . Heck , I ’ ve never set foot in a developing country , save for a January afternoon in Tijuana , Mexico . I ’ m here to learn about Send a Cow and to understand the work this nonprofit is doing to lead Africans to teach each other about agriculture .
I ’ m involved in Send a Cow because a dear college friend , Douglas Smith , asked me to get involved . Doug is an extremely intelligent , progressive Christian , like me , and when he asked me to join Send a Cow ’ s board , he told me it was low commitment and an interim appointment , just until they could decide on strategy for the U . S . group .
But I don ’ t do anything halfway , and suddenly , I was holding small meetings for Send a Cow supporters in Louisville and committing to a trip to Kenya .
What sold me on Send a Cow was the research I did before I committed . I poked around Send a Cow ’ s website . I watched videos that explained their work . I read about them . Everything I saw confirmed what I want to see from nonprofits and ministries : their work is done in partnership with people who live and work in the countries they serve .
This means that the organization doesn ’ t show up with 200 cases of food , shoes , Bibles – whatever – and drop it off and leave . And it also means that the organization hires and works with native people , who know best the culture , language and nuances of the people they serve .
Send a Cow employs about 250 people in Africa ; all but three are Africans . They work in
Kenya , Ethiopia , Zambia , Uganda , Burundi and Rwanda . The workers there are peer farmers who go from farm to farm offering help and advice on raising livestock as well as crops . They are helping farmers in Kenya move away from tobacco , which provides no nutritional value , strips the land of valuable nutrients and no longer brings in the cash it once did . They teach farmers specific farming methods , such as keyhole gardens , which include a compost pit in the center , and plants positioned around it in a ring . It holds water well and keeps crops alive during times of drought . They also provide vital training in gender and social development so that husbands and wives can work better together .
The name suggests that Send a Cow sends cows to developing countries . When it started almost 30 years ago , that ’ s exactly what the organization did . Send a Cow is finding now that the organization can have greater impact in some areas that they serve by training people in agriculture , rather than or along with giving cows , goats or livestock . The Kakrao project will work directly with 600 farmers in Africa ; if the organization attempted to give livestock instead , it would take far longer and the cost would be prohibitive . Also , the organization doesn ’ t ship cows over any more ; they buy local livestock that will fare better , since it is native to the country .
Livestock – particularly cows – are a wise investment , though , for Send a Cow . A cow provides dairy , and the manure will enrich the soil on the farm and allow crops to flourish . Then the cows breed and the offspring are passed along to another farmer through Send a Cow . We had the opportunity to attend a passing ceremony , and it was lovely to see the joy in the faces of the farmers receiving a cow .
But it ’ s not always the right choice , and I love that Send a Cow evaluates carefully what farmers need before working with them .
Kenya varies in climate and soil , so needs vary . But one thing that affects all : Kenya is often stricken by drought . The country depends on the “ long rains ,” but they did not come consistently this year . Some places we traveled had had too much rain to grow what they called ground nuts ( perhaps peanuts , I wasn ’ t really sure ). Other places were so dry they had struggled to keep banana trees alive .
PREPARATIONS FOR TRAVEL
In preparing for my trip , I listened to a podcast called “ Otherwise ?” that was created by a Kenyan journalist . She spends 10 to 15 minutes each week exploring an aspect of modern Kenyan life . Hearing her talk about drought and famine in Kenya helped prepare me for this trip , as did her discussion with a medical student about the doctors ’ strike that had occurred earlier in 2017 . In Kenya , public hospitals are run by the government , and doctors were striking for better pay and working conditions for themselves , and for better patient care .
I also sought out Kenyan-born authors to read and understand more about the country . One thing to know about Kenya : it was a British colony until 1963 , and you can see this influence throughout the country . While the native tongue is Swahili for most of the country , many people we met , even in the most remote parts of Kenya , spoke English .
I ’ m not really interested in the stories of the white colonists who came to Kenya , no matter how benevolent . Out of Africa doesn ’ t interest me . What do those who are truly born of Kenyan soil have to say about their world ? That ’ s what I want .
Many of the names of people we met were downright Biblical : Titus , Nicodemus , Isaac , Sarah … and that directly reflects the high number of Western missionaries who came to Kenya . Some early missionaries erased some of the native culture of the country and contributed to the westernization of Africa .
I saw some of the worst parts of U . S . culture popping up all over Western Kenya as we drove through small towns : Coca-Cola ads at nearly every stop . It bothered me deeply to see this country with high rates of malnutrition advertising so heavily for soda pop .
But back to Philister .
BEFORE SEND A COW
We started our first day at Philister ’ s home , meeting her granddaughter and her mother-inlaw , who told us she was 97 but none of us were quite sure of that . She seemed more like a tough 75 . This is a place where people may not even know their own birth dates .
From Philister ’ s , we drove to the home of Caren , who spoke to us brightly about her life . Caren lives in Kakrao where HIV rates are twice as high as Kenya ’ s national average and most of the population lives on less than $ 1 per day . On this day , she seemed almost perky as she told us how her children remind her it ’ s time to take the medication . Later , we learned that she was probably putting on a good face for us . Her three children , the oldest of whom looked about 10 ,
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