I fled to Tanzania in 1996 because of the war, which started in 1993 when the first elected president Ndadadaye was murdered. I was 23 when I fled the insecurity and killings, and I was already married. Ten years' later I came home. I was lucky because my land was still unoccupied.
Some others who come back find their land occupied by other people who often refuse to leave the land to the legitimate owners. Now I am 34, with a husband and 6 children of whom the eldest is 17. My house is still covered with grass and I hope I may be helped to get some iron sheet for solid roofing.
The three goats from Rwanda which I received from Cord last October are still alive and in good health. I was there because I live on a hill where there were very few goats left after the war. Most of them had been killed by the soldiers. On my hill, several public meetings with the elected hill council and chief were held to decide who would benefit the most. First we had to build a stable. This was not a tradition in our commune and at first we did not like the idea. But its to limit the damage which the goats cause in the fields and which cause a lot of tension and conflict in the community. Cord also asked us to tether the goats if we let them out of the stable.
Another advantage is the production of manure in the stable. Cord is teaching us how to use this in composting units and as fertiliser in our fields. We also had to plant 300 trypsacum fodder grass plants, which was not much of a tradition either. This grass is very useful to feed the goats, or other grass eating animals such as cows. It also prevents erosion in our fields and we can use it in our composting units. We also get regular medical visits from Cord's vet.
Meanwhile, we have even had babies (young nanny goats). I am now waiting for the young goats to grow, and then I will hand over 3 young goats to the next beneficiary in the 'solidarity chain'. We are very happy with our goats because cows are much too expensive and we could not even dream of owning them. But goats are easy to look after, they are not often ill, and they are important to have in reserve for when we really may need money. We can also eat one of them ourselves if we have to organise a feast, or our son can use it as dowry when he gets married.
