Who are Send a Cow? Send a Cow is a charity that helps people in Africa to grow their own food, so that they can feed themselves and their families. When Send a Cow first started they sent cows from England to Uganda. Now they find cows in Africa, rather than flying them there on planes! Now, livestock is only a small part of what we do. Send a Cow works in 6 Africa countries; Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Zambia A lot of people who live in the countryside in Africa have to grow all of their own food, as they don’t have money to buy food (and there aren’t supermarkets in a lot of rural areas!). The climate can be very different in each African country, from the dry hillsides of Lesotho, the green and lush forests of Rwanda, the drought-stricken plains of Ethiopia or the grasslands of Uganda. The different climates, and natural disasters like droughts and floods, and a lack of training and resources can make it very hard to grow enough to eat.

The importance of harvests! Unfortunately, finding enough to eat is a real struggle for a lot of families in Africa. Sometimes they only have enough food to eat once a day. However, when they are supported to grow a range of crops that can feed them all year, families can thrive. Send a Cow helps families to make the most of their farms by providing seeds, tools and training. With these things families can grow enough food, sell their vegetables at market and make money to buy medicines and send their children to school.

Meet Nadine This is Nadine, she lives with her family in Rwanda. Nadine is three years old and has two older brothers, Dan (9) and Daniel (12). Her mum also has another baby on the way. The family live on a small plot of land and before they joined a Send a Cow project they were only eating one meal a day. Dina, Nadine’s mum, used to own a cow but was forced to sell it when they didn’t have enough money to feed Nadine, who was just a baby at the time. Since then Dina hasn’t been able to buy any more animals for their farm. Nadine’s Mum and Dad didn’t get to finish school because their parents couldn’t essentials like pens, books, shoes, uniforms and school fees for them. Their biggest wish now is for all of their children to eat well, grow strong and complete school. Harvest festival is all about celebrating the food we are lucky enough to have and sharing our good fortune with others. This Harvest we will be looking at why it’s important for people in Africa to grow their own vegetables and how we can help.

Harvest video video We’ll watch this video about Send a Cow’s Harvest campaign and then we can talk about what the video has taught us. (If the video doesn’t play if you hover over it and press the play button, open an internet window and use this link https://vimeo.com/276875404)

Did you know? Send a Cow trains families how to make the most of their land so that their vegetables will grow well and they will have enough to eat, as well as enough left over to sell. Here are a few examples of what the families will learn to do:   1. They don’t plant their seeds in seed trays, but into raised beds, with lots of rich soil for their vegetables to grow in. 2. Using compost will help the vegetables grow better and help the soil to retain moisture. This is especially important where the land is infertile and dry. Do you know what compost is? [answer] Compost can be made from saving vegetable peelings and animal manure. 4. Attaching a drainpipe from their rooves, leading to a water butt, will help provide lots of water for the plants. 5. Covering the seedlings with straw or banana leaves will help stop the seedlings from drying out and getting eaten by bugs

Muck in with Harvest! You can help families like Nadine’s to grow enough food to eat, to be healthy and to send their children to school. Lots of schools like yours have helped Send a Cow to support families in Africa. There are lots of ways that you can get involved and raise money to provide families like Nadine’s with seeds, training, materials and maybe even a cow! Here are a few ideas: Muck in this Harvest and hold a cow themed mufti day! Download the cow head band on our website, print them out and colour them however you like! You can also come to school in black and white clothes or a full cow costume! Older classes will enjoy turning an initial investment of £10 into £100 by getting parents, teachers and the wider school community involved with their enterprise initiative. Hold a milkshakes and cupcakes sale at your school Stick the spot on the cow! Contestants buy 10 ‘spots’ each and compete for how quickly they can stick them on the cow!

Thank you! Thanks to you Nadine, her brothers and their parents will be able to eat three healthy meals a day, learn how to make the most of their land and invest in their farm. With varied crops, bountiful harvests and animals on their farm they will be able to thrive. £42 could pay for a gardening kit, including a spade, watering can and welly boots to help a family and others in their community get growing. £100 could provide the necessary seeds, training and materials for ten families to be able to grow a sustainable supply of crops. £350 could support a community group with the training, seeds and materials to build a shared plant nursery, including coffee plants and fruit trees. £650 could fund a dairy cow, providing a vital source of manure and milk for a farming family. We hope your Harvest celebrations are lots of fun. When we share what we have, we can all be happier!