Poultry Farming Changes a Mother's Life

Jemila Edaso, 27, a mother of three, could not feed her children and was unable to send them to school a few years ago. Jemila says, “My husband worked as a daily labourer. The family depended on his meagre income for everything, and life was hard. It was difficult for me to feed my children and provide them with school supplies.”

The EGGciting Project, funded by the Royal Douch State Mines (DSM) New Zealand, which began implementation in 2021, aims at improving the livelihoods and food security of rural communities by developing income-generating schemes and offering upscaling skills training at the family level for improved egg production and dietary diversification in the targeted community.

Shashemene District of the Oromia Region was one of the targeted districts, 262 km south of the capital Addis Ababa, where the EGGciting Project was implemented to assist targeted community members by providing different kinds of context-appropriate support. The project provided the targeted community members, among others, with five months of poultry training, a poultry shed, and 1,000 chicks for 10 households.

Jamila got the opportunity to join one of the poultry farm associations in the Shashemene District. She began enjoying the benefits of being a member of the poultry farm association, including a quota of ten eggs per day from the daily production of the poultry farm to feed her children. It became an exciting fortune and opportune for Jamila as a job and means of supporting her family and feeding and educating her children.

"Before, I was unable to feed my children what they needed, but now, thanks to the EGGciting Project, I can provide them with a diversified meal, including eggs. Currently, I’m supporting my family financially,” Jamila explains.

The capacity-building training and other supports provided by World Vision equipped members of the poultry association in many ways, particularly women, to engage in small, income-generating activities.

"It’s interesting to see a significant change in my family's life. I never thought that I would become the mom that I am today. I have learned from the training the value of hard work, and now it is rewarding me. I am so grateful to the trainers for equipping me with life-changing skills,” she adds.

Now, the EGGciting Project has phased out, but its footprint has a deep-rooted presence in the community, leaving the poultry farm in the association’s custody. "Now that the project has accomplished its mission, we will keep the poultry farm sustainable even in a more improved way by applying the lessons we learned in the training,” says Nuria Sheh Aliye, Chairwoman of the Association.

Jemila has continued to receive a percentage of the profit from the egg sales. A new way of life is in the making, and she attributes her success to World Vision’s life-changing support. "With the money I received from the group, I purchased two sheep, stocked my home with some essentials, was able to send my children to a private school, and fed them nutritious foods three times a day. I know my life and that of my family have changed a lot because of World Vision’s support,” she concludes.

By Hilina Hailu, Communications Coordinator, World Vision Ethiopia