News

A thought for the future
Matilda Thadei lives in the village of Sisa Mkomilo in Tanzania. Matilda’s husband died three years ago from AIDS, leaving Matilda with 6 children to care for.

Shortly after her husband died Matilda began to feel unwell and was told that she had TB and she was diagnosed with HIV. Matilda’s son Prosper Thadei is sixteen and while she was in hospital he had to look after their small plot of land and his brothers and sisters. As well as carrying this burden Prosper had to bring her food every day twice a day to help her get better. He did not have a mode of transport so he had to walk the 4-hour return journey to bring food to his mother. You see in Tanzanian hospitals a patient must provide their own food. Due to all of these factors food was in short supply and Matilda’s family began to struggle to survive. Matilda knew she would have to find a solution to her family’s growing problems and ensure they would have a brighter future.

Shortly after she returned from hospital, Matilda applied to be part of a Bóthar goat project. She has seen the benefits that the Bóthar project had on families in her community. As Matilda was so ill, she sent her son Proper to attend all of the necessary training programmes prior to receiving an animal. Prosper built the correct housing unit for the animal and prepared their small plot of land to receive their Irish dairy goat. Matilda’s family received their goat on the 21st of December 2003. It was the best Christmas present that she could ever have imagined.

Matilda’s family are already seeing the benefits of having a dairy goat. The family’s diet has improved by drinking the nutritious milk. Matilda has been able to sell the surplus milk at the local market providing a small income. From this income, Matilda has been able to buy much needed medication and is also saving money so that she can send her children to school. The family’s small vegetable garden is also benefiting from the goat as the manure is helping to fertilise the soil, improving their crop yield.

Matilda knows that there is no cure for HIV and she may not have long left with her family. However she says that she is happy knowing that the goat will help to provide for her children’s future and that her son Prosper will have the means to look after her family when she is gone.

The Bó Vine Christmas 2005