We are calfway....I mean halfway there!

Where: Mkangaula Village in Deep South Tanzania

Situated 12 hours inland by bus from Mtwara and off of a dirt road between Masasi Town and Newala Plateau bordering Mozambique are the villages of Nagaga (where I served for two years in Peace Corps) and Mkangaula (the neighboring village and home of Wagumu Camp).

The citizens of the Deep South villages of Tanzania have maisha magumu (hard lives). Little access to running water. Failing schools. Economic difficulties. They often live in mud huts. (no air-conditioning or heat or electricity here) Do not have limited access to clean water and lack the resources to afford proper nutritional meals and prompt medical care. They live in communities with 10-20% HIV/AIDS rate, highly vulnerable to malaria and other local ailments. However, while facing all of these hardships, the Wagumu Camp members inspired me with their dedication to the community. This is a community where if you have two shirts you give one away to someone who has no shirt. Can you imagine?

We have raised $610.44 out of our goal of $1000!!!

Don't "Have A Cow"....Give A Cow!

Thanks to the generosity of friends we have raised....

$450 towards our goal of $1000!

Also, in addition to personally donating, I am giving 100% of the proceeds as a notary public to the project! Please share this blog and inspire others to give!

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of a Milk Cow

Wagumu Camp Tree

In case you were wondering more about the Holy "Milk" Cow Fund, I will be posting the Who/What/Where/How in the following posts. Please post any questions you have regarding this project in the comment section and I will do my best to fill in the details.

WHO: WAGUMU CAMP'S BWILO SALAMU

I met Wagumu Camp when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania in 2006 in Nagaga Village. My first days in Nagaga were a blur of new faces and swahili conversations I didn't understand. One group, Wagumu Camp, stood out in their eagerness to work with me.

I was led to their meeting place, a humble tree by the roadside marked simply with a sign. They sat me down in a chair and began to perform for me- songs and dances all geared toward HIV/AIDS and health education. They wanted training, books, and guidance. Througout my two years of Peace Corps we did weekly lessons, village trash clean-ups, HIV/AIDS testing days, set-up their offices, as well as doing several large and small outreach projects in several villages reaching thousands of villagers.

The owner/caretaker of the milk cow will be Bwilo Salamu and his wife Hadija. Bwilo's story is one that is very common in Tanzania. As a young man he left the village to go to Dar es Salaam to seek his fortune. However, in Dar he became sick and was forced to return to the village. Back in the village, he tested positive for HIV. With the help of Peace Corps volunteer Michelle Choy and Wagumu Camp, he was able to more fully understand the virus and to begin ARVs. He met his now wife, Hadija, also living with HIV. I became great friends with Bwilo and his wife during my time in Tanzania. As one of my counterparts Bwilo helped me with many projects. Honestly, he may be one of the kindest and more generous Tanzanians I met during my stay there. Always bringing me food- such as eggs, cashews, bananas- and participating in the planning of many projects for orphans and vulnerable children, as well as bravely coming out to his community during his wedding in 2007 as living with HIV helping to eliminate stigmas in the village.

Me and Bwilo at his Wedding

So, that is the basic story. I have stayed in contact with Bwilo by phone. He keeps me updated on the weather, crops, births and deaths in the village, and the ups and downs of village life. There is, of course, much more to the story. So many more experiences. Stories of tragedy and beauty, teamwork, and tenacity. I wish I could take you all there and show you the sign and the tree where this humble movement was born, march with you through the dustcloud a Wagumu Camp parade, and sit with you as hundreds of villagers gather in the dirt and climbitrees to strain to see the songs, dances, and lessons of Wagumu Camp.

Wagumu Camp Members at Art/Kite Camp for Orphans and Vulnerable Children

NEW TOTAL RAISED: $284

I've Got a Fever and the Only Prescription is...

"We have a stake in one another...what binds us together is greater than what drives us apart, and...if enough people believe in the truth of that proposition and act on it, then we might not solve every problem, but we can get something meaningful done for the people with whom we share this Earth." --President Obama

Read below and consider donating to the Holy "Milk" Cow Fund today!

Friends, Romans, Countrymen...Lend me your Cows!

The Holy "Milk" Cow Fund has raised....
211 dollars!
on our way to our goal of $1000!

Donating A Cow Puts Everyone in a Good Moooo'd!

Inspired by recent phone conversations with friends in the village of Nagaga in the deep south of Tanzania and the Compassionate Backpackers Quest 2011 (click for link)...and I have decided to embark on a journey specifically, to purchase a pregnant milking cow for Wagumu Camp champion and HIV survivor, Bwilo. (I know it sounds like an "udderly" ridiculous idea!) BUT, a milking cow can provide up to 20 gallons of milk a day, which can be sold or consumed by the family benefiting both the family's yearly income and nutritional intake. The cow will be delivered by the compassionate backpackers's Shannon Schiele and Julie Costa in 2 months time during their travels to Tanzania. The journey to both fund and complete this project will be documented on this blog!

THE GOAL: to raise $1000 to purchase a pregnant female milking cow and to cover initial costs of feed, medical care, supplies for the cow, and transport. (100% of your donations will go to this project!)

HOW KNOW TO DONATE BROWN COW?: Click the donate link to the right of your screen to donate with credit card. Hunt me down and give me cash. Or send me a check.

I can be contacted at jessicalhayes@gmail.com for further details.

THE STEAKS ARE HIGH! Donate Today!