Provide 2 hens per home to fight malnutrition

HACORWA submits this update as a progress report on the project addressing malnutrition and stunting among children under five in semi-urban areas of Kigali.

During this reporting period, HACORWA did not secure additional donors to expand activities.

Nevertheless, the organization continued to closely monitor and support children and households already enrolled in the project. Through community saving groups and organized holiday gatherings for children, HACORWA delivered key messages on nutrition, infant and young child feeding, hygiene, and positive parenting. Parents and caregivers received guidance on improving household diets using available resources. Both women and men remained engaged in promoting child wellbeing, and food security at family level.

HACORWA respectfully calls upon people with good hearts to support this initiative, so that together we can sustainably fight malnutrition and stunting.

 Summary of Progress

We are excited to share the first outcome of our project “Support 2 Chickens per Family”, which aims to prevent malnutrition among children by providing vulnerable households with egg-laying hens and nutrition education.

Thanks to a generous initial donation of $18, HACORWA successfully purchased 2 hens for a mother of newborn twins living in poverty in Kicukiro District, Rwanda.

The hens have started laying eggs, providing a regular source of protein to support the nutrition of the twins during their most critical early development stage. This small start is already making a significant impact.

Beneficiary Story: A Mother with Twins

Meet Vale (name changed for privacy), a young mother aged 35 with a total of four children and who recently gave birth to twins (now aged 1.5 years). Living in extremely vulnerable conditions, Vale faced challenges in providing nutritious food for her newborns. Now, Vale is a member of one of the HACORWA-initiated saving groups called Itezimbere Mubyeyi (Thrive as a mother). When identified by our community team, she was struggling to meet basic nutritional needs.

Thanks to your donation, Vale received two healthy hens. Today, those hens lay eggs that are improving the nutritional intake of her babies, two other children and herself. Vale shared that eggs are a blessing:

“I can now feed my babies eggs. I didn’t think I would manage to give them such healthy food. I ask blessings to those who made this possible.”

This story shows the real, immediate value of even a small donation.

What This Teaches Us

• Small actions bring real results: Even one gift changed a life.
• Eggs matter: A simple egg a day can significantly improve child nutrition.
• Hens multiply impact: As hens continue to lay, families gain lasting food security.

 What’s Still Needed

While this initial success is promising, the full vision of this project remains largely unfunded. The total budget of $65,000 will allow us to:

• Provide 600 hens to 300 families
• Train 1,000 caregivers in nutrition and chicken care
• Support 100 women with income-generating activities
• Work closely with health centers to monitor child growth and impact

So far, only $18 has been raised, which we used with full integrity and great care, but much more is needed to reach all vulnerable families we’ve identified.

Thank You & Call for Continued Support

To our first donor — thank you! Your contribution became the foundation for this life-changing work. We now call on other kind-hearted donors through GlobalGiving to help us grow this impact.

• $10 buys 1 hen
• $50 supports one household with hens and training

Together, we can fight malnutrition, one family at a time.

Links:

• HACORWA website