Cow Naming Rights? What does that mean?
People purchase rights to name all sorts of things - boats, stars, cars - and HOPE supporters can opt to sponsor and a name a cow. But what does this mean?
While the lifespan of a cow is certainly a tiny fraction of a star’s, the good that one cow can do during its lifetime is perhaps what makes “Cow Naming Rights” a very popular prize at our dinners.
Cows are essential for successful farming in rural Cambodia as they provide natural fertiliser and help plough the fields. The difference in yields between a farmer who owns a cow and a farmer that does not have one are enormous. However, the majority of families that HOPE encounters are simply unable to afford one, and in some cases they opt to loan chemical fertilisers from middlemen and become trapped in a cycle of debt.
In order to help rural farmers break out of poverty, HOPE has an animal bank that loans a female cow to a family for approximately 18 months. During this time, the cow helps the family improve their farming capacities dramatically, and she also gives birth to a calf. Once the calf is reared, it stays with the family, while the mother goes on to assist the next family.
To keep the animal bank running, we offer opportunities for supporters to name a calf so that costs to purchase a mother cow and ensure her good health can be met.
A Cow Named Moon
Last year a friend of HOPE sponsored a cow and named her Moon. This is the story about Moon and the family that she lives with.
Soam Chen is 46 years old, and Sim Reim is 43 years old. They have 2 children, but had to live separately as Soam Chen went to the Thai border in search of work. He earned 75 USD/ month working for middlemen, but this was hardly enough for his own survival, and he was only able to send money home every 2 -3 months.
In the meantime, Reim worked as a laborer locally when work was available. The family relied on a small canal for their water source.
Everything changed when Reim joined a Well User Group and the Animal Bank. With permanent access to clean water from a well, and thanks to Moon, they have expanded their garden and rice field. They no longer have to loan chemical fertilizer from middlemen, as they have Moon’s manure to make compost with. All this also enabled Soam to come home, and the family are reunited and living together again.
It costs 80,000 yen to buy a mother cow for the Cow Bank. Not only does this include the cost of the cow, but also vaccinations for the mother cow, as well as training for each family who hosts the cow.
If you are interested in naming a cow, please get in touch with us or come to our next HOPE Tokyo Dinner on Friday 27th July. [link]
