Burera is a district in Rwanda that is known for its fertile land and mining industry. Because the mining industry provides workers with an insufficient income for their families, households face poverty. As a result, many children in Burera are malnourished and women are left tending to the agricultural and husbandry matters. As COVID-19 has severely impacted Rwanda, the situation of these poor rural households has become worse.

As a response to the significant need in the Burera community, especially during the times of COVID-19, ALARM Rwanda, through the generosity of friends and partners, has provided these vulnerable women and their households with pigs to rear. These pigs reproduce quickly and they are providing the beneficiaries with food security and are contributing to the fight against malnutrition and poverty in the community. On September 7th, ALARM distributed 20 pigs to 20 vulnerable households (123 individuals). In total, ALARM has distributed 40 pigs to the Burera community in 2021. Because of the distribution of the pigs, (1) there is an increase in crop yields because the pigs’ manure is being used for composting, (2) there has been a reduction of food insecurity and malnutrition in individual households because of the increase in food crops and meat source, and (3) the Burera community members are enhancing their livelihoods because they are using the pigs for income-generating activities.

As the pigs reproduce, the women are encouraged to give one piglet back to ALARM and give one piglet to a neighbor. One of the pigs that was distributed to a beneficiary in 2020 just recently gave birth to 9 piglets! The pass-it-forward approach is allowing the project to go beyond ALARM’s direct impact and multiply throughout the community. This community is comprised of 7,672 individuals who are broken up into 1,567 households. Over time, as the women continue to rear their pigs, the entire community will be impacted by this project.