Happy new Year!

On the 18th February 2011 we had elections in Uganda. All went well for Karamoja but we’ve heard reports of skirmishes down country. Thanks for your prayers. Most community people up north here don’t really think much about politics or even what non-Karamojong worry about. Typically, they are more concerned about survival and life-and-death concerns. Struggling to get food, water, shelter, medicine – they basic stuff much of the world doesn’t think about.
One of the ways that we are trying to address the pervasive problem of malnutrition in our little corner of Karamoja is a small poultry project at the household level. We bought 100 day old chicks and brought them up to Nabilatuk on 3 February. All of them fit into a box not much bigger than an oversized deep dish pizza delivery box. Now after 2 ½ weeks, those little fuzz balls are growing into recognizable feathered creatures, chirping and flapping around. In 4 months they’ll be ready to go to their new homes, 10 laying hens to each selected woman. To get the chicks ready – we need to be with them around the clock for the first month, giving feed, water and heat. They get vaccinated weekly, and the pen is cleaned daily. Usually the local chickens just scratch and scavenge to find food and water, at night they sleep in trees or sometimes a basket –unfortunately 50% are killed by hawks or wild cats. Our plan is that the women will make cages for them and give the feed we provide. Once the hens start laying eggs, 3 eggs per day are sold to cover the daily feed cost, leaving the balance for daily household consumption. The hens will be kept for a laying season and then sold in order to buy a new group of hens. That’s the plan, to be a sustainable project with minimal inputs. Pray that it goes well. Of course, some will die from disease before the women even get them, others might be stolen, and others might be eaten by the very women recipients. But we are hopeful that this can have some impact in the lives of people as I strive to show Christ’s love through veterinary medicine. Not to mention that it’ll be nice for KKAB to be able to get eggs to eat ourselves!