Day 4: Food Security Visit

'After a run to start  in this 'land of a thousand hills' we were off to our first of our Food Security site visits!  This morning we went to the Gahira Parish site, this was one of the original sites and is considered a 'maintenance' site.  We met with a number of the beneficiaries as well as the Veterinary assistant for the area.  They were able to tell us about all their activities, their successes as well as their challenges.  We were greatly encouraged by all they have done and where they are at as far as their animal husbandry practices are concerned.  They are very pleased and also feel they have come a long way.  Some of the highlights we heard:  all beneficiaries have at least one animal.  A number have benefited from the governments 'one cow per family' program - where they receive a cow and pass the first calf on to another family.  A number of people also reported being able to pay their children's school fees, which was stated with a great deal of pride.  The association was able to save a fair bit of money and has purchased land for crops - instead of renting!
Some of their challenges had to do with poor weather causing problems with crops, as well as struggling to find food for their animals during the dry season
We visited a few of the farms, as well as being shown the land they were so proud of.

We returned to our guesthouse for lunch, then headed out to visit a friend's chapel where he is a Catechist (lay leader).  He was very pleased and proud to show us how far they've come!  We were treated to a youth choir, and met several of the members who came out!