Keeping All This Sh*t Straight...

Okay, so some of you are a bit confused.

Is it sheep or goats?

It's now both, depending on what the local community thinks works best given climate and environment, and what can be sourced locally.

Where in Africa are we?

 Rwanda and now Uganda.

Sub-Saharan Africa, often lumped into the East African Nations.

Specifically, Rwanda and now Uganda.

 Okay, but where exactly in Rwanda and Uganda?

In Rwanda we have focused our efforts to date on the communities along the park boundary of The Parc National de Volcans, home to the world's only Mountain Gorillas and other wildlife.

We are now expanding to communities around Nyungwe Forest National Park, home to the largest concentration of primates in Africa, especially chimpanzees, and to communities outside Akagera National Park, home to the Big 5 as well as a myriad of other wildlife

 

In Uganda we are focusing on the area of northern Uganda recovering from the ravages of Joseph Kony and the LRA, particularly the communities around Kamdini, Barlonyo, Ober Bar and Gulu.

All of these communities are located between Lira and Gulu.

The map on the right shows the various tribes of Uganda.

 

Same Old Sh*t, Different Country...

!!WE ARE OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED IN UGANDA!!

 

As I write, contracts have been signed and goats are being sourced locally for the cooperative of 20 grandmothers in Ober Bar, in northern Uganda, fulfilling what we guaranteed would not be yet another empty promise made by westerners. 

Sadly, we've encountered this same weary doubtfulness in almost all of the cooperatives we've met.

 I guess they've all heard promises in the past that failed to materialize.

As if their troubled past isn't enough, they continue to be let down by false promises and opportunistic swindlers.

 

It's also the perfect opportunity for Solomon & Esther, our eager and capable 'Pauls' in Uganda, to get their feet wet with our initiative and work out any kinks before moving on to the larger cooperatives in the coming weeks.

And, as the local government has included itself in the implementation of this new initiative, it will be interesting to see how they can make themselves productive and useful.

Below are photos of our February 2013 meeting with a few of the Grandmothers and the children of all ages they care for...

we gathered on a nice patch of grass, perfect for grazing some the goats to come

 sharing grandmother wisdom, so universally about love and caring

 where ever there are children, there is always "Skinnamarink"

that's Esther to my left as we gather a few of the Grandmothers for a photo to commemorate our meeting

Sh*t Hits The Fan In The Best Possible Way!

 The Guardian Project has expanded rapidly here in Rwanda over the last 2 weeks.

 We are excited to report that we will be providing 300 goats ( as they thrive better in that climate than sheep) to a cooperative in a community located next to Nyungwe National Park in SE Rwanda.

 We will source the animals locally so that an additional 250+ farmers will benefit from the income.  

 And meanwhile in Musanze, 230 sheep were given to the last group of a 700 member  Amizero cooperative. Some of these sheep were the last of those being paid forward by the Porters Club.

 We have begun providing 360 sheep to 3 groups in a 1007 member Women's cooperative, purchasing sheep from the Porters Club from members who had completed the terms of their contract and were now generating income from excess sheep! how wonderful!

Lets look at where we are at this point...

 Each family that receives a sheep has approximately 6 members (father, mother and children), as does each family that benefits from the income of the sale of a sheep.

 So, if we do the math,

550 families x 6 members =  3,300 men, women and children in Nyungwe
1,140 families x 6 members =  6,840 men, women and children in Musanze
Total = 10,140 men women and children benefit from just this small phase of The Guardian Project's on-going efforts.

 This number is only an approximation, and it may actually be higher. 

 Add this number to those already benefiting from the Guardian Project over the last 2 years,approximately 12,000 men, women and children

 Total approximately 22,140 men, women and children in two and a half years

 and you quickly realize what an incredible impact The Guardian Project makes to the community.

 We are also proud to report that the first 220 farmers who received sheep two and a half years ago have now completed the terms of their contract, and have each paid forward a sheep to another cooperative, in addition to agreeing to maintain 3 females for continued breeding.

 Some of these farmers now have as many as 8 sheep of their own, though most have 4 or 5.

 And these farmers are proud to report that they will be selling sheep to The Guardian Project as we continue to expand, so they are now generating income as well.

 Many farmers have also sold excess sheep to cover school fees for their children and family health insurance.

We estimate that, as sheep in the project are continually multiplying, the project has generated  a conservative estimate of approximately 5,826 sheep to date in the 4 districts attached to the PNV alone.

 And all these sheep have been generating large quantities of manure, which is in turn generating a high quality fertilizer that has already increased crop yields, in some cases, by up to 300%.

 That increased crop yield also generates additional income!

 And anything that helps stabilize and strengthen the lives of the communities around the national parks helps to ensure the protection and conservation of the wildlife inside.

 And all of this doesn't even begin to take into account the close to 1,000 goats that will be provided to the cooperatives we will be working with in Northern Uganda.

But that's a story for another day, so stay tuned.

There will be shit!

Sent from my iPa