Customs between the city of Goma in the DRC and the town of Rubavu in Rwanda records an average daily cross-border traffic of over 25,000 people. There is a lot of commercial activity between the people of the two towns. Many items are transported across the border to be sold: food, tap water, charcoal, firewood... But one thing is more popular than all the others: milk.
In 2006, the "one cow per poor family" programme was launched in Rwanda. Since then, no fewer than 200,000 cows have been distributed to vulnerable families. The programme has been a success in terms of milk production. Milk production has increased spectacularly and is expected to increase further by 2017.
Although development specialists are often sceptical about the 'giving people things' approach, this programme is proving that the results can be surprising. Rwandan journalist Pascal Niyonsaba and Flemish journalist Ellen Debackere investigated the impact of the development programme and its impact on the Rwandan-Congolese dairy border trade.
This project was funded through Journalismfund.eu's Flanders Connects Continents grant programme.
Photo © Gwendolyn Stansbury
