The Heifer Kenya, Send A Cow Successful Partnership

Heifer Kenya is managing Send A Cow (SAC) funded livestock program in the western part of Kenya. The two organizations have similarities in their founding history; Dan West started Heifer International in 1944 in the United States of America when he shipped dairy cows to poor communities in Spain to alleviate hunger and poverty initiated by the civil war in that country. SAC started in 1988 when British farmers sent dairy cows to Uganda to help Ugandan residents devastated by long civil war: People had lost their homes and cattle, and milk had become a luxury that few could afford. Both organizations have undergone through relief to development continuum using sustainable development approaches. With a common strategy to community economic development, the two organizations are making use of the 12 Heifer International Cornerstones for Just and sustainable development.

Send A Cow support to resource challenged communities in the western Kenya region began on a small scale in 1995.  Between then and 2001 support was limited, being confined geographically as well as in terms of staff and types of intervention.   During this period 11 women’s zero grazing groups were provided with 214 dairy in-calf heifers and training, with a total budget of just over US$232,000.  Since 2002 until 2004, SAC support increased significantly. Until the time the mid-term-review was implemented in 2005, 33 new groups in six districts had been supported with training and had been provided with 309 incalf dairy heifers and 66 dairy goats. 29 more groups were approved for funding in 2006 and so far have been trained and provided with 185 incalf heifers, 293 dairy goats and 52 oxen and ploughs, with a program budget of slightly over $400,000. With the program’s tremendous growth, SAC and Heifer Kenya agreed to implement an expansion phase, “the Western Kenya SAC supported livestock program” on 3 year rolling plan. It is anticipated that from July 2006 until June 2009, about 100 groups will have received assistance, with the program budget having grown to over $900,000 annually. The program now is providing assistance to groups in the districts of Busia, Siaya, Butere - Mumias, Bungoma, Teso, Mount Elgon, Vihiga and Bondo. Apart from dairy cows, the program has diversified livestock species to include dairy goats and oxen and ploughs.

HIK and SAC activities in Western Kenya region

1. Provision of training on integrated dairy cow and dairy goat farming
2. Provision of dairy cows, dairy goats, oxen and ploughs to increase acreage under food crops and crop yields
3. Sustainable organic agriculture, where farmers use manure to enrich soil fertility so as to enhance yields of vegetables and food crops
4. Training farmers on installation and use of fuel efficient cooking stoves to reduce firewood demand and conserve the forests
5. Strengthening community groups to enhance opportunities of realizing more impact and sustainability
   
   

Factors contributing to the strength of the Heifer International and Send A cow partnership

• Mathew 13:3 – 9. The Heifer and Send A Cow partnership is like a seed that the two organizations agreed to plant jointly and nurture as it grew into a seedling, sapling and has now matured to fruition.
• Establishment and strengthening of the Heifer Kenya Send A Cow partnership has been appropriate and relevant. The two organizations do not see each other as competitors, but complementary and filling identified gaps. Its through this kind of concept that Heifer and SAC acknowledge and support each other in the roles agreed in the teaming up agreement
• The Heifer SAC partnership was initiated with all the openness it deserved. The two organizations played all their cards on the table, with none of them playing any card under the table. This meant that the two organizations shared their values and agreed to embrace them with only one common goal; addressing hunger and poverty using livestock
• The two organizations pride in their successes jointly and put efforts jointly to the areas any one of the them, or jointly identify as requiring strengthening
• Regular review of partnership agreement between the two organizations has contributed to each organization acknowledging the strengths and challenges of each other. The factors contributing to the strength of each other are being utilized to build the areas that are identified as challenging.
• The two organizations make use of objective and NOT subjective partnership arrangement. Each of the two considers positive criticism important for a win-win outcome.
• The success of the program being implemented in the western Kenya region by Heifer and Send A Cow is a pride to both organizations, but not one of them.

The current 3 year rolling plan ensures that at the end of each year, Heifer and Send A Cow have the opportunity to review the program performance accordingly and re-plan as necessary. Lessons learned and best practices identified are used to strengthen the program.

Summary of 2006/2007 Support program

• Support to families, both original and pass-ons in the regions during the year and cumulative number is as indicated in the table below;

Region	Total families supported during the year				Grand total all families all years
	Original families during 07	Total Original families all years	Pass-On families during 07	Total Pass-On families all years
Nyanza Region	512	1,446	58	360	1,806
Western Kenya Region	159	1,068	46	326	1,394
Rift Valley Region	183	376	3	64	440
Coast Region	0	1,367	91	900	2,267
Central and Eastern Region	76	237	4	62	299
TOTAL	769	4,494	202	1,712	6,206

The Maasai livestock health and marketing project does not provide livestock to the communities but helps them to improve the health of their livestock. In the FY06/07, 800 families were supported by the project and vaccinated their livestock against major diseases. 215 of the families were from Loita area whereas 485 from Keekonyokie area.

• Total cumulative number of Original and Pass-on livestock ever provided to families

Region	Placement type	Dairy Cows	Dairy  Goats	Meat Goats	Beehives	Camels	Oxen	Donkeys
Nyanza	Original	395	1079	0	130	0	230	30
	Pass on	150	249	0	0	0	4	0
Western	Original	831	356	0	0	0	52	0
	Pass on	286	63	0	0	0	0	0
Rift Valley	Original	57	0	0	470	225	0	0
	Pass on	18	0	0	0	92	0	0
Coast	Original	1312	69	0	36	0	0	0
	Pass on	861	39	0	0	0	0	0
Central & Eastern	Original	45	10	211	780	0	0	0
	Pass on	38	5	15	0	0	0	0
Sub-Totals	Originals	2640	1514	211	1416	225	282	30
	Pass ons	1353	356	15	0	92	4	0
TOTALS		4003	1870	226	1416	317	286	30

• List of resources provided in current projects (animals, seeds, training, etc.)

1. Training in integrated animal management, governance and leadership skills, organic agriculture, animal traction, enterprise development and management
2. Provision of livestock namely; dairy cows, dairy goats, meat goats, beehives, camels, oxen, donkeys
3. Provision of spray pumps used by farmers to spray the cattle and goats against pests (ticks and tsetse flies)
4. Provision of ox ploughs used with oxen to plough land
5. Provision of donkey carts used with donkeys for transport
6. Provision of milk handling and cooling equipments
7. Provision of bee handling equipments
8. Provision of honey extraction equipments (To begin in FY 08)
9. Provision of Artificial Insemination Kits
10. Provision of Bicycles to be used by service providers