SPATH

Winifred Sighan and her husband Paul only saw the dawn of an economic prosperity through a Heifer international Cameroon training and support of a sheep project with their Tirnyuy women’s Common Initiative Group at the Kekaikom community in Bui division of the North West region of Cameroon in 2005.

Winifred and Paul have 8 children (4boys and 4 girls). Winifred had a challenging task to feed her family and support her husband’s limping business. “I was living in this compound in misery” she said of the past. Winifred’s over dependency on her husband for income and any emergency spending pushed her to a begging end and consequent misery. The kind of misery which necessitated her and some 13 women in her community to form the Tirnyuy women’s common initiative group in the year 2000. Their task was to complement one another in labor, with food crops and cash. “We wanted to help ourselves”. She said. Yet her dreams were never realized despite working in collaboration with her children their food crop harvest was never enough. Poor feeding brought in health complications like stomach problems for some of her children and gastric pains for Winifred. “Part of the children’s school fee was spent in the hospital” she recalled.

Though Winifred and her husband dreamt of a prosperous business, her irresponsible marketing altitude crippled the wish. Each time my husband gave me money, I did not know how to manage it…………he was always furious and we were living in frustration” she said. This went on for years and the love story between the two parents was torn apart. In continuous search of hope, to keep their group alive, Winifred and her group members heard of Heifer International Cameroon aid through one of the beneficiary groups in their locality in the year 2000. They applied for help that same year under a sheep support project. Like answered prayers Heifer International Cameroon came to their rescue in 2005. “Heifer International Cameroon laid a good foundation in us with many trainings……many good trainings” 

Winifred remembered. These trainings gave Winifred and her group members ideas on compost making, integrated livestock management, pasture establishment, pen construction, improved nutrition and income, sanitation and hygiene, HIV and AIDS as well as the Heifer international Cameroon 12 corner stone’s of love and sharing. The 14 group members were complemented with farm inputs, tools and sheep to keep their wishes alive. “After receiving my watering can, a sprayer, wheel barrow and 4sheep and a ram I did not spare any least energy to survive” she said. The nick naming of her sheep -Blessing, hope, confidence and promise only told Winifred and her family - good things to come. Her brilliant knowledge of feeding her sheep with food crop residue rewarded her greatly. “The good looking state of my ram just in 4months made it an attraction” Winifred recalled.

Boiling with skills on income generation Winifred sold her ram at a whooping cost of 55,000fcfa. “I used part of the income to advance my pass on the gift and to afford another ram for my farm” she said. As Winifred’s herd expanded the sheep dung went to fertilize her farm fields. “I was motivated to cultivate garden food crops for the first time with my children and our harvest was excellent” Winifred said. Winifred and her children harvested 400 heads of cabbage, 16 baskets of carrots, and 12 baskets of tomato. With extra labor pain for on their farm fields by her husband Paul their food crops yields were the best. “We harvested 70 bags of beans as against 4 in the past, 20 bags of Irish potato compared to 3, and 60 bags of maize unlike 5 in the past” she explained. Poor feeding became an issue of the past. “When my children and husband starting eating a variety of food crops, everyone was ok, no sickness happened and their education is good” she said. 

With affordable education Winifred’s first daughter Sharlot Wirkar is in the university and the rest of the children are in quality secondary schools. Winifred ability to market her spare food crops won her husband’s heart. “My ability to generate income was good and my husband gave me his trust and we were pulling together” she said. Their sheep herd expanded to 35 and they sold 30 sheep at 400,000fcfa. This income had assisted the couple to pay for their pass on the gift at 103000fcfa. “The rest of the income helped me to start the buying and selling of food crops with my first son valentine” she said. Winifred and her family has sold over 300 bags of Irish potato at 4,000000fcfa, 80bags of beans at 3,000000fcfa, 100 bags of maize at 1.80000fcfa and garden corps to the tune of over 600,000fcfa. Apart from renovating their house with modern toilets at 250,000fcfa, the family has bought landed property at 300,000fcfa, a bike at 480,000fcfa for their first son Valentine to facilitate his business transaction in the community and above all the family bought a new truck at 18.500000fcfa for the transportation of their goods and services to the markets. “I have saved big money in a micro financially institution and has 40,000fcfa in the revolving fund of my common initiative group in preparation for difficult time” she said.

Appreciative of one another’s endeavors Winifred and her husband Paul have offered employment to 10 idle youths in their community on their farms and business places .The income these youths are earning is helping them to start personal income generation and to be self reliant. “We have also opened our doors to friends and the needy to feel our warmth and compassion” Winifred said. Six orphans take sanctuary under the family roof enjoying education and good feeding.

In the early days with her Trinyuy women’s common initiative group Winifred opted herself to be the secretary of the group. She fancies her group and takes it as a responsibility to preach kindness and hard work to the rest of her group members. Winifred and her husband owe their joy to Heifer International Cameroon and as she puts it ……..” it is good to be frank, my life, my business and our prosperity is thanks to Heifer International Cameroon.