A Gift of Goats is a Gift of Hope

Story and Photos by Darcy Kiefel, Heifer International Photojournalist

In a mud home made vibrant by beautiful flowers, Leokodia Byabasaija extended her hand to welcome a stranger.

Byabasaija, a beautiful woman who conceals the hardships of her life with an engaging smile, lives in the village of Kisinga, Uganda. Not long ago she had a happy life with her husband, Lesio, and their children. Married in 1968, the couple, working as peasant farmers, raised nine children. Although they struggled, together they managed to send their children to school and put food on the table.

In November 2001, after 33 years of marriage, Lesio died, leaving Leokodia a widow with children to rear with nothing more than a small vegetable garden for their survival.

But Oct. 30, 2002, brought a new future to Leokodia Byabasaija, her children and many other families in other Ugandan villages. On that day, Heifer International and the Kisinga Women’s Dairy Goat Project celebrated the arrival of 50 dairy goats donated by Oprah Winfrey, the world-famous American talk show host.

Heifer has been giving goats to this village since 1991, and continues to train women and families in goat husbandry and management, health, leadership and the integration of women into society. Soil erosion is a major problem in this area, and Heifer also trains farmers in ways to protect the environment.

Courses are held for both new and previous project farmers as the need arises, and an additional 100 families are educated each year before receiving the pass-on gift of animals.

Masereka Sileo and his wife, Spiranza Sileo, received their Heifer International goat in November 1994.

“After our Heifer goat had kids, we passed on the gift of an offspring with happiness to our neighbor and kept the other for project sustainability,” Spiranza Sileo said. “Over the years our Heifer International goat has had nine pregnancies. The total sale of goats has amounted to 800,000 Uganda shillings [about $450].

“Our original goat provided our family with three liters of milk daily, half of which we consumed and one liter we offered to our sickly neighbors,” she said. “Their children were malnourished and in great need of milk.”

“Before Heifer International we were low-income peasant farmers,” Masereka Sileo added. “Our way of life was not the best compared with how we live today. We survived in a grass hut with seven children. It would leak every time it rained and our health suffered. We couldn’t even afford to buy a cup of milk for our children. When the message came that animals would arrive to help our village, we welcomed the idea. We were trained in cultivation, construction of a pen for the animals, health, environmental protection and gender issues,” he said. “The Heifer International training took a great deal of time, and we almost lost hope. But because the training was so strong we remained patient. In 1994, our dreams came true and positive changes have continued to occur since then.”

Mrs. Sileo added, “From the breeding, selling and milk of our goats we built the home we are now sitting in. All our children attend school, our son has almost completed high school, and one of our daughters is enrolled in nursing school. “Our orphaned granddaughter whose mother passed away when she was young has been drinking goat’s milk since that time. She has never been sickly. I am not ashamed to say I am the woman I am today because of Heifer International.

Back at home, Leokodia Byabasaija was feeling blessed.

Beaming, she led her dairy goat to its newly constructed corral while her children watched with pride.

Leokodia’s daughter, Leonida, spoke of her family’s new hope. “I have seen the lives of our neighbors change because of their Heifer International animal,” she said. “I believe and pray that, God willing, this animal will bring our family a better life. Perhaps with the gift of our goat, my sisters and I will one day continue our studies,” she added. “Heifer International's hope that our children will have a future is our dream—and possibly our reality as well.”