Aijokor: "The Gift of Giving"

 

Kolir is located in the Eastern region of Uganda, in a place populated by the Iteso people. Their culture is rich in tradition. One of those traditions is called Aijok, which involves the aunt of a child giving them a chicken.

 

The aunt gives the chicken intending it to reproduce and give the child a source of assets, which can be traded later for goats and cows or other livestock, and eventually sold off to cover the cost of school fees.

 

Due to the Karamajong raids of the 1980's, much of the culture was disturbed as people had to flee their villages and leave behind the comforts of home, often times losing all their belongings in the course of events. This led to a social and cultural breakdown, and the tradition of Aijok slowly faded away.

 

We hope to re-instill this tradition through our poultry and pig raising projects.

 

Needy children from the homes of our beneficiaries will be identified by village members to receive a chicken. The child will be given responsibility of caring for the chicken, teaching them valuable skills in animal husbandry, economics and trade. This will be a long-term investment which will ensure the younger generations of our elders have something passed on from grandparent to grandchild. These chickens have the ability to multiply and become income generating.