Challenge Match Campaign

Microfinancing Partners in Africa

A happy man and woman standing outside next to an enclosure holding a cow.

Cow Program

In many rural areas of Africa, livestock farming, particularly cow rearing, offers a promising income-generating opportunity for farmers. The cows provide a steady supply of milk, which can be sold to a local dairy for profit.

Need: 

  • Subsistence farmers in rural Uganda struggle to grow enough crops to feed their children or have surplus to sell at a local market for profit. ​
  • Poverty means daily hunger; child malnutrition; lack of access to clean water, shelter, and healthcare; little or no opportunity to go to school or learn a trade; constant fear for the future; and increased risk of exploitation and abuse.

Solution: 

MPA’s Cow Program trains farmers to help each other in agricultural best practices. Once their “investment” is complete, the family receives a pregnant cow.  When the calf is born, the cow produces 18-24 liters of milk each day, enough to feed the family and sell the extra. This extra income is invested in education for the children, increasing savings, and improving the farm.  The family pays off the living loan by passing on the first on year old female calf to the next qualified farmer. 

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Matilda Namutebi holding her child and standing next to her cow.
2583

Cows funded and passed on

57%

Report savings of $50+

92%

Report daily income of $2-5 from milk sales

64%

See improved school attendance for their kids

Since 2009, MPA has funded over 1,900 original cows as living loans

Our Cow Program Heroes

Snapshots of Hope

Two women outside smiling next to a cow.
A man and woman standing outside next to an enclosure holding a cow.
An older woman standing outside next to an enclosure holding a cow.
A young man standing standing inside an enclosure holding a cow.
A small group of people guiding a cow outside.
An older woman standing outside next to an enclosure holding a cow.
A woman standing outside next to an enclosure holding a cow.
A small group of people guiding a cow outside.
A man standing outside next to an enclosure holding a cow.
A young boy standing outside next to an enclosure holding a cow.
A small group of people guiding a cow outside.
A man with a group of children outside using a tippy tap hand washing station.
A man shaking hands with a woman and her husband.
Black and white cows outside in a pasture.
A woman outside smiling with her child.