Hope in Uganda

My afternoon with Annette and Patrick Baayi was just one of the many highlights of my recent trip to Uganda. Welcomed with open arms, they were eager to show me their beautiful home and guide me around every aspect of their farm.

Although you wouldn’t know it now, life before working with Send a Cow was extremely difficult for this couple and they spoke openly of a time when the whole family was living in poverty. Without skills or knowledge in growing vegetables and with little means to generate an income they often went without food, and were only able to afford meat at Christmas. Their four young children suffered from malnutrition and the family regularly fell sick from malaria but were unable to afford the medication they so desperately needed.

Yet before me stood farmers who through their own hard work and determination had turned their lives around. For this family Send a Cow really was the answer! And the proof was in their flourishing vegetables gardens, healthy and happy children and the savings book Annette proudly produced. Each month the family set aside a little money from the sale of vegetables, milk and maize which they use to buy household necessities and pay for the children's school fees. For Annette, who dropped out of primary school as her own parents couldn’t afford the fees; being able to send all four children to school has been her biggest achievement! “Innyo, innyo, innyo nasauka – I am so very, very, very happy!”

Spending time with the Baayi family was so very rewarding and it was fantastic to see for myself just how effective our grass-roots approach is in transforming lives! Without Send a Cow Annette and Patrick would still be living a life of poverty…instead they have real hope for the future!