Pauline Namuli attributes her happy life to the MPA Cow Project. Pauline Namuli and seven other members of her family are residents of Kalagala Village, Masaka District in Uganda. After being trained on how to take care of the cow she was given a cow in 2009 as an original from the cow project. The cow has calved four times (2 heifers and 2 bulls). At the moment her cow is giving 21 liters of milk a day. Out of the 21 liters of milk 4 liters can be reserved for the calf, 3 liters for her own family’s nutrition and 16 liters are sold for income. This enables her and the family to generate about UGX 480,000/ month ($130 USD). Pauline made a plan to save 40% of the milk sales as recommended to her in the Cow Project training to care for her families needs.
“As a single mother I was the sole provider for my family. I used to practice subsistence agriculture and grew some coffee for sale. Life was not that good as we faced many financial difficulties. Since we received the cow, we were able to break the cycle of poverty. The benefits of the cow have made a great impact on our family. From the savings from the milk sales, we managed to set up a poultry project which has supplemented our income by selling eggs.
The animal manure from the cow and chicken droppings has done a great job in fertilizing our land. Since we have limited land, we also sell animal manure to other farmers who need to fertilize their land.
A truckload of manure can be sold at around UGX 140,000.
We also work to harvest coffee beans and vegetables which has boosted the income and promoted nutritious food at home. We even have vegetables served at every meal.
On behalf of my family, we thank MPA for supporting projects aiming to help needy people improve their standards of living.”