Congregation sets hopes on cow
The congregation of Covenant Presbyterian Church, 230 E. Jefferson St., wants someone to have a cow.
Specifically, the members want a needy someone in the African nation of Kenya to get an animal.
The church has made it its summer mission to raise $450 by the end of the month to provide an animal to a deserving recipient.
Audrey Carlson, Covenant Presbyterian's mission chairwoman, said, “We always do a summer project. Last year, we went local with Catholic Charities on 100,000 Diapers.
“We didn't bring in that many, but we joined the crowd,” Carlson said.
“This year we got the Presbyterian Giving Catalog,” she said. “It lists different projects that you can donate to. We decided to do a cow. It will be $450, but we are all pledging and we are all excited.”
Teresa Mader, the project manager for the catalog in the office of special offerings for Presbyterian Church USA in Louisville, Ky., said, “All of the catalog are aimed at developing countries.
“We work with a project called Wealth Creation for Smallholder Farmers in Western Kenya. The project will provide good quality, high-yielding livestock to families following training on improved animal management to further improve food and income security,” she said.
Mader added the training includes housing, feeding, disease prevention, hygiene, breeding and welfare, enabling farmers to care for their livestock. Recipients will also commit to passing on their animal's first female offspring to another needy family.
“We're trying to make this a sustainable project,” said Mader. “If they don't get a cow, they may get two dairy goats or some chickens.”
Mader said the animals will be bought by the Wealth Creation Project in Kenya.
No matter the livestock, the project aims to help smallholder farm families (70 percent made up of women) have improved food security and nutrition, help farm families establish farm businesses and increase income to at least $2 a day and empower women and girls to participate in decision-making, have greater control over resources and take up leadership positions.
According to Mader, 90 percent of the households in this Kenyan region depend on agriculture as their primary source of income, and yet despite the area having a high potential for agriculture, many smallholder farmers are facing extreme poverty.
Mader said she expects the project to indirectly impact 12,600 people through better farming methods and wealth creation.
To aid in that cause, Carlson said, “The mission committee made little fish-shaped banks so that every person can take a bank and make deposits in June and July.
“The first Sunday in August, they will turn the banks in and we'll count the money,” said Carlson. The money will then be sent to the national church.
“We are hoping for enough to buy a cow, but if we can get a pig or a goat that will be great, too,” she aid.
Carlson said if anybody wants to contribute to Covenant's effort, they can send money to Covenant Presbyterian Church, 230 E Jefferson St., and the contributions will be added to the cow-buying total.
