By Marlene Caroselli.
Author/historian James Howell once remarked, “one hair of a woman can draw more than a hundred pair of oxen.” Just think of the strength, possibilities that might be realized when women and oxen work together! And they are just that in at least one third-world country. Consider what’s happening in Maradi, Niger. Residents there face a significant transportation problem. The city, heavily commercialized, taxis few, which makes travel along city streets difficult, especially for women.
Meet Haoua Diatta, who founded the Micro Credit in Africa organization (MICA). She also began the Oxcart Project. MICA enables village women to invest in an ox and a cart, which they rent to villagers who need transportation. Some villagers use their carts to take crops to the marketplace, while others use them in lieu of an ambulance, or simply to carry things to and from town.
In time, these mini-entrepreneurs buy their own oxcarts, and the monies repaid to MICA purchase other carts, for other women, in other villages. What does an ox and its oxcart cost, you wonder? A mere $280 purchases both an ox and a cart.
MICA, Inc., headquartered in Laurel, MD is available via phone 301-262-0960 or email UNNIGERDC@aol.com, if you want to help provide dignity, hope, and economic empowerment to poor families far away from your own.
If you are a parent, the Oxcart Project may actually be a way for you to help your young children prevent the summer slide. Look for ways to raise money/save money as a family and have your child tally the funds on an ongoing basis. When they reach $280, the child can either write a check or go to the bank for a cashier’s check.
When your child’s teacher asks what the children did during their summer vacation, your child can declare (s)he bought an ox and helped alleviate poverty in Niger! MICA is empowering women - one ox at a time.
Featured Photo Credit: elisasjourneys.com
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