In Uganda When Hope is Lost, Heifer Helps

There were many forces at work that made Karlina Latigo, 64, lose hope. The widow from Uganda was head of a household that included six children and 10 grandchildren. She worked hard to support her large family by making paper beads to sell for income through a “paper to pearls” process in which waste paper is converted into eye-catching jewelry beads.

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“We used to earn about Shs 100,000/- ($53) per month from the paper beads, however due to over production and involvement of many people, the market got flooded leading to a drastic drop in prices of beads. By June 2008, the average monthly income dropped to a low figure of Shs 10,000/- ($5.3), which was too low to support my large family,” says Karlina.

Her body was failing, too. Karlina suffers from a chronic lung problem that has afflicted her for the last four years, making her a regular visitor to the hospital. “The effort to support my family was so big. My weak body was beginning to fail and sincerely I was suffering too much. I really began to give up because nobody seemed interested in helping me,” Karlina recalls sadly with tears rolling in her eyes.

Already feeling defeated in mind and body, Karlina was further challenged by her geographic circumstances. She lives in an area defined by the rebellion of Joseph Kony. As head of the “Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA),” Kony is the leader of a guerilla group violently engaged in an effort to establish a theocratic government in Uganda. Reports reveal that the LRA, notorious for its brutality, is responsible for the abduction of an estimated 30,000 children and the displacement of 1.6 million people since the beginning of its 1986 rebellion.

Karlina lives in an area with a heavy presence of LRA soldiers. “Eventually we were herded into people’s camps in 1996, so that the soldiers could freely pursue the rebels in the villages,” she recalls sadly. Unfortunately for her, the camp was located on her land. She therefore had nowhere to grow food for her family and only relied on relief food from the World Food Program.

The war also inflicted more heartache when two of her son-in-laws were killed by rebels. Another son-in-law died of HIV/AIDS related complications as a consequence of the war. “I now stay with all these young widowed daughters of mine, together with their children since they have nowhere to go,” sorrowfully adds Karlina.

Life challenges and struggles seemed insurmountable for Karlina. Until she joined a Heifer project. She started attending training conducted by a project extension worker. “I never thought I would ever attend and enjoy class again at my age. But thanks to Heifer the lessons are so good and important,” she says. “Unity among members has increased, and as we train, we get opportunity to share our family problems with others for counseling and encouragement. It is therefore a day out for us to get better both emotionally and technically.”

There is a universal human need for support that binds all of us together. We share the need to talk, learn and re-ignite a hopeful passion for life. It’s a precious gift that takes little, but makes a tremendous impact.

Through training, Karlina has “emotionally” restored the happiness of her home and “technically” improved its hygiene and sanitation through the construction of a pit latrine, a bathroom, a rubbish pit and plate rack She has also constructed and uses an energy saving cook stove. “The cook stove uses less fire wood and produces far less smoke compared to the traditional three stone stove. Cooking is therefore more enjoyable and clean. I no longer cough and sneeze while cooking,” she adds proudly.

Together with four other group members, she received a set of four oxen and an ox plough. Using the bulls she has now opened up six acres of land compared to the average of three acres she would manage before.

She’s also feeling physically better. “Because of straining less, my chest no longer pains me much. I feel much better and believe will heal soon,” says Karlina. In her six acres she planted cassava, maize, ground nuts and beans for the family food. Her group has also hired out their oxen to two neighbors for a fee. That initiative earned the five members Shs 70,000/-($37), which they used to buy medicines for the oxen. They plan to hire out their bulls more in the future for more income.

Karlina now has hope again. And that’s no small thing.

“When I see you Heifer people, my heart warms up,” says Karlina “It warms up with a lot of happiness and joy because I have conditioned my heart to expect good things from you all the time. To me you symbolize hope and the promise of a good life to my family.”

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