Cracking the Cycle of Poverty

Poverty can't steal this family's joy, anymore!

Story collected by Gerard Uwimana and written by Vincent Hashakineza with Eryn Austin-Bergen

Rebecca’s family was one of the poorest families in her community. She was often hungry because her parents’ farm didn’t produce enough food for the family to eat every day. Without an income, they couldn’t buy simple necessities like salt, soap, laundry detergent or Rebecca’s school uniform and classroom supplies. Eventually, Rebecca dropped out of school. And it broke her father's heart.

“When I faced these problems, I was so hopeless about the future of my family members, especially for my daughter who left school, because I know very well that education is the key to development for households, and the nation in general,” Batsinda, Rebecca’s dad, laments.

Thankfully, that’s not the end of Rebecca’s story!

Her parents started attending Food for the Hungry (FH) Rwanda workshops on how to increase their household income, care for small livestock, make their own compost and fertilizer, and cook more nutritious meals. To complement their training and help them get things going, FH Rwanda gave Rebecca’s family three Gift Guide chickens. That’s when life really started clucking along!

“After receiving the chickens, there was a remarkable change in the lifestyle of my household," Batsinda explains. "With the eggs laid, my daughter was able to earn money from eggs and satisfy her daily needs including her school uniform, school materials, and hygienic dignity kit…she returned to school!”

Fathers like Batsinda are working hard to help their daughters succeed. 

And when Rebecca did, her grades improved!

Rebecca’s three chickens each laid an egg a day, providing $16 of income every month. By saving some of this money, they were able to buy three more chickens, doubling egg production and their income! 

They could now afford to provide for their family’s basic needs, including much needed food. With the addition of eggs on the breakfast table and fresh veggies from the market, the whole family began to eat more regular and nutritious meals.

Batsinda and his wife also made good use of the chickens’ droppings. They applied their workshop training to mix up rich fertilizer for their farm. As a result, their bean harvest tripled from 36kgs a season to 120kgs of beans—on the same plot of land!

Batsinda shares, “If FH was not there, I’m sure my daughter might be outside the school and we could suffer from extreme poverty till the end. But now, we are able to solve more problems at home and we are developing significantly. Thus, we are happy!”

Rebecca’s father is planning to expand their poultry business to 20 chickens so he can start saving to send Rebecca to university. He’s confident she’ll finish secondary school and continue to soar into the future.

Rebecca’s Gift Guide Chickens are also having an impact beyond her family. Batsinda explains, “I’m proud to see neighbours coming to buy eggs at home. This shows me that the project is not important to my household only, but to the community in general. Thanks to FH for this significant intervention in the development of my household.”

You can help more families like Rebecca’s simply by sending practical resources (like chickens!) to kickstart their journey out of poverty.

Browse the Gift Guide and send a gift today.