Research confirms that good nutrition in the early years of life is crucial for human growth and mental development. The largest part of our nutritional work would be directed to the children and young mothers in Karamoja, a district in North Eastern Uganda.

Karamoja has one harvest season that lasts from August through September whereby they only harvest maize which is their staple food. This only provides carbohydrates and brings about Malnutrition.

3.8%of children less than 30 months in this area suffer from Kwashiorkor, Marasmus and are underweight.

The traditional occupation of the natives is cattle keeping but even this source of revenue are tinkling down because of the cattle rustling tribes closest to them. They do not have a good idea about how to take care of the cows and are ignorant of all the benefits of having a proper diet.

This is where Helping Hands steps in to train and educate the women and children about the importance of eating right and raising Friesian cows that are able to withstand the harsh climate and provide milk.

With the Own a Cow Project, we would go in and provide each select family with a cow that they would be responsible for raising and when it gave birth, this same investment is made in another family. This way it would be the gift that keeps on giving long after we have left.

The idea of cattle keeping appealed to us because this is an activity that the locals are already well versed with and therefore would need minimal training and they can attain an array of benefits from it.

First and foremost, the Friesians provide an abundance of milk that is essential to building a healthy body which in turn equips them to work even harder. After the dietary needs have been met, there would be enough left over to sell thus providing income to the families that can be used to construct sound buildings, roads and provide other amenities that the locals can’t afford right now.

The cows also provide manure that can be used in the fields where more nutritional crops would be grown. There is a lot of free land in the area that is not being used and with this project, the possibilities are endless.

We have a great vision but we know we can’t do it on our own and so we implore that you join us as we tackle this cause.