Ndikiray is nourishing her children and her community
In Tanzania’s Dodoma region, 31-year-old Ndikiray is raising her two sons, Edgar* (11) and Abdul* (4), on her own. Like many parents in rural communities, she worried constantly about how to put enough nutritious food on the table. Her boys were at risk of malnutrition because Ndikiray could only afford to buy basic staples. Nutritious options like milk were a rare treat.
She started to turn everything around after she received a single dairy goat through a Save the Children project in Dodoma.
“After I received the dairy goat, things started to change,” says Ndikiray. “Now my children drink nutritious milk every day. I no longer have to worry about where to find it or how to pay for it.”
A daily source of nutrition
Alongside the goat, Ndikiray took part in training on animal care, nutrition and small business skills. The goat’s milk quickly became part of her sons’ daily meals, supporting their growth and helping protect them from illnesses linked to poor nutrition.
For a mother raising children alone, a reliable source of nutrition has brought real peace of mind.
And she’s sharing the benefits with her whole community: “When my children’s friends come to play in the morning, I give them milk. It makes me happy to know they are not going hungry,” she says.
Turning milk and manure into opportunity
Before the project, Ndikiray worked long hours as a tailor, but her income wasn’t enough to cover all of her family’s needs. With the goat, new possibilities have opened up.
She soon began selling manure and surplus milk, and bred her goat so that there are even more of them to produce extra milk. She now earns enough through her goats that she’s covering her family’s essential living costs and still has more to save up and invest in her family’s future.
“The money I earn is invested in savings groups. In our savings group, we have a system of giving out loans to uplift each other as women. I had a goal of building a chicken coop. If I had only relied on selling manure, I would not have been able to complete it. However, by investing in the savings group, I gained trust and was given a loan, which helped me accomplish my goal of building the chicken coop. I also plan, during this dry season, to expand and modernise my goat shed using the savings I have accumulated.”
Ndikiray also plans to sell some goats to open a small fabric shop where she can combine tailoring with keeping livestock.
“I want to give my children the best chance in life. I believe my goats can help me,” she says. “And I’ll keep working until that dream is real.”
Building resilience for many families
Ndikiray is one of more than 1,500 participants so far benefitting from Save the Children’s project in Dodoma. The initiative supports families with dairy goats, nutrition education and training in sustainable farming and savings groups. It aims to strengthen food security, improve dietary diversity and reduce child stunting. For Ndikiray, the project is about much more than livestock: “This project has significantly changed my life. It has lifted a burden off my shoulders,” she says. “Projects like these are more than goats. They are about giving children a chance. I believe that, and I am proof of it.”
From one dairy goat, Ndikiray is now nourishing her children, supporting other kids in her community, and building a more secure future.
Photos: Fredrick Shija / Save the Children.