The Zakat Foundation of America Livestock Gift program launched during Ramadan 2014 enabled generous donors to change the lives of rural families in remote and under served areas through the gift of a dairy animal. This is the story of one of those families.
When Shaila Kallimani, from the Indian state of Karnataka, learned about the Zakat Foundation of America Livestock Gift initiative , she rushed to register her name. Ms. Kallimani and her husband were excited about the program because they were barely supporting their two children, Ms. Kallimani’s parents, and her in-laws under one roof as subsistence farmers.
Before receiving the gift of a pregnant buffalo, Ms. Kallimani received orientation from a veterinarian and a local livestock management training center. The cow has now delivered its calf and yields more than one and half gallons of milk per day.
Ms. Kallimani uses a portion of the milk to make yoghurt, butter and buttermilk for the family. What they do not need is sold to a local dairy through an arrangement negotiated by the local Zakat Foundation of America partner. From these sales, she has added 1,000 Indian rupees to the family’s weekly budget. Her husband also earns around 1,000 rupees a week so their household income has doubled. Now they have money on hand for any unforeseen expenses.
Ms. Kallimani thanks Zakat Foundation of America and its humble donors who helped them from afar. “May Allah accept your contribution and reward you for it,” she said. “You all have changed our lives for the best.
Bless the donors and their families!” Ms. Kallimani said she now has faith in a brighter future for her family, that the reliable income gives her strength to look forward. She happily anticipates raising her cow’s future calves in order to give other families this precious income generation opportunity as part of the program’s farmer-to-farmer expansion plan.
This family’s prospects have been transformed from subsistence to stability through charity from people just like you. The helping hand you extend can help generations to grow up healthier, happier, more productive and resilient. Thank you, and may God be pleased with you.
