Send a Cow launches biggest ever appeal to raise £1.2m
Melanie May | 3 October 2017 | News
Send a Cow has launched its biggest ever appeal, to enable mothers to grow their own nutritious food to feed their families, with the government to match every pound raised in the appeal until 31 December 2017.
The Mother & Child Appeal aims to raise £1.2m to provide mothers with the skills and tools to grow their own food. It focuses on 22-year-old Mercy, and 30-year-old Ruth, who live in Kenya, Mercy is raising two young children alone and is also the main carer for her younger siblings and her mother, who recently lost both hands after a fire. She has dropped out of school to try to provide for her family, who are currently eating at most one meal a day.
In contrast, mother of five Ruth and her husband began working with a Send a Cow group in 2013. Within two months they had learned how to grow their own vegetables, improve their home hygiene, and how to build a special stove requiring less firewood.
As well as promoting the campaign via social media and the charity’s website, in November Send A Cow will be launching a short documentary. ‘Alice & Agnes’ to show the difference support is making to farming families in Africa. It looks at the lives of three generations of women who are working together and sharing skills to survive off their land with support from Send a Cow. The charity has entered the film into several competitions and festivals and will also be showing it at the Afrika Eye Exhibition at the Watershed in Bristol.
The charity also has a photographic exhibition illuminating the achievements of women in rural Kenya and providing an insight into their everyday lives. The exhibition will be travelling around several churches: St Thomas Church, Salisbury from 30 September until 13 October, St James, Piccadilly from 16 October to 30 October, and Wells Cathedral from 18-25 November.
As well as an online gallery, there will be an event in London where the photos will be displayed, and with several speakers including the BBC’s Louise Minchin. There will also be a short series of podcasts, each telling a different story from Africa. These are due to be released at the end of October.
Paul Stewart, Send a Cow CEO, said:
“Every mother wants the best for her child. Together, we can achieve this. It’s not too late for Mercy: with your support she can give her children the childhood she never had. Her and Ruth’s story has inspired Send a Cow to launch the Mother and Child appeal. And, what’s more, the UK Government will double every donation made before 31 December.”
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.