PROJECT 2003
Objective:
There are 2 main projects in 2003: Disabled Children Relief House in Co Loa and CCow Breeding Project
1. Finishing the Disabled Children Relief House
The building of the Disabled Children Relief House started in December 2002 and was finished in June, 2003.
The final details were arranged during the visit of 4 Belgian DONXA volunteers to CO Loa in November 2003.
On 16 November, 2003 the Co Loa village celebrated the official “opening” of the new school for mentally disabled.
2. Start a pilot project for breeding cows
The cows are placed in very poor families. After the cow has calved, the cow is returned to DONXA and placed in a different family
The calve stays in property of the family who took care of the cow
In the spring of 2003 the Vietnamese volunteers started with some investigations for the cow project: first looking for a suited village, then consulting the authorities and finally setting up a plan of action.
The project was carried out during the work visit of the Belgian volunteers in November 2003. In consultation with the local administration of the poorest families of Trung Chau were selected (borough of Dan Phuong).
DONXA went to visit 12 families to see if they met the criteria set down in advance, such as:
-Presence of a barn or space to build a barn
-Availability of time and workers to take care of the cow.
After a meeting with the different head(s) of the families, 5 families were chosen.
The selection of cows was, against all odds, a tuff job. Together with a vet DONXA went in search of “the best cow” because we wanted strong, healthy cows that could quickly be impregnated and calve.
After 2 days of touring around, DONXA selected 5 brown cows of the Laisind race. We were lucky: 1 cow was pregnant, the 4 other cows could be impregnated within 6 months.
At the end of November 2003, 5 families from Trung Chau were given a brown DONXA cow in loan. DONXA is in charge of the medical care of the animals (obligatory shits, inseminations, treatment in case of illness..) and the families are responsible for the every day care.
The first calve was born in February 2004 and was given the name “February”
