A campaign dubbed Send a Cow, by UK charity Planting Hope is looking at ways of ensuring that as many farmers as possible in Africa get out of the poverty trap, starting this Christmas.

Send a Cow is the largest fundraising campaign run by the international development charity since it was founded by a group of UK dairy farmers three decades ago.

After the charity collects donations, it sends them to farmers in the form of cows, goats, sheep, chicken, tools or seeds. However, there is a catch-farmers who receive the donations have to promise to pass on the good deed to another farmer, in the form of a calf/kid, when the cow/goat gives birth, chicks or saplings.

Ongoing campaign

The charity is collecting donations until December 31, 2015, with the total collections matched by the UK government.    

So far £34,682 has been raised, against a target of £65,000 (£130,000 when the UK  government matches it).

“It’s the perfect way for farmers to help farmers this Christmas. These gifts are a great way of helping farmers become self-reliant,” said Planting Hope’s chief executive, Simon Barnes.

Helpful

Since inception, in 1988, the Send a Cow campaign has helped more than one million of Africa’s poorest farmers get out of poverty.

Last year, an initiative by the charity to help poor African families get breakfast raised £757,466 which, when doubled by the UK government, totaled £1,504,056.

The funds were used to train hundreds of families on vegetable growing, construction of energy saving stoves, as well as accordng more than 9,000 a chance to access good food.

Farmers can apply for consideration as receipients by applying through their local Send a Cow office. Send a Cow, however, only helps community groups (not individuals) who are poor by local standards. At the moment, in Kenya, the charity only has an office in Busia.