In the middle of Eastern Cape Province of South Africa lies Msobomvu, a small village where unemployment and poverty is a sad reality for many families. The majority of youth flee to cities hoping to find employment. With young people gone, most in the village are elderly people who spend their days taking care of grandchildren. One of the elders in Msobomvu is Mrs Noxeke. For the last few years the only source of income for Mrs Noxeke was her pension grant from the government. This was far from enough to meet basic needs. In order to live a sustainable life, she needed additional income. She heard about Heifer International South Africa (Heifer) and decided to join Heifer’s Msobomvu Nokulunga Project.

Heifer International South Africa partners with poor rural communities in South Africa and assists them in achieving food security and self-sustainability. The organisation provides communities with training on agricultural practices and with livestock, and helps them to become successful small farmers. Through the gift of knowledge and animals, project members are able to produce healthy food for their families and generate income by selling eggs, milk or vegetables.

Mrs Noxeke is a 65-year-old widow. She lost her husband three years ago after a long fight against leukemia. She started her journey with Heifer when she joined the Msobomvu Nokulunga Project. After intensive training, she received two goats and 12 chickens from Heifer. Willing to work hard, she created her own vegetable garden with cabbage, spinach, onions, potatoes and beetroot. In a short period of time, Mrs Noxeke began to benefit from being a small farmer. She used most of the vegetables she grew to fulfill her everyday diet. She sold the remaining vegetables, such as spinach and cabbage within the community. She sold cabbage for R8 and spinach for R5. During this past year, she harvested 25 cabbages and 25 bunches of spinach.

Though the biggest change in her life came when she received goats and chickens from Heifer. Shortly after she received them, her chickens started to produce eggs. The eggs produced exceeded Mrs Noxeke needs so she decided to sell eggs in the nearest town and to generate income. She collected approximately 50 eggs per week. She sold them for R1 per egg.  With the money she earned she improved her home and bought necessities such as salt, sugar, paraffin and feed for the chickens. Mrs Noxeke also sold two of her goats for R1500 each. Additionally, she shared her happiness with others and passed on the gift of a goat to another family in need. Passing on the Gift®, is an important part of Heifer’s work whereby project members commit to pass on the equivalent of what they received to another family in need in their community.

Everyday access to healthy fresh vegetables and eggs has improved Mrs Noxeke’s health. Through selling eggs and vegetables, she is finally able to provide for herself. But, Mrs Nolungile Noxeke doesn’t want to stop there. This year, she will plant more crops and work just as hard to see her small farming business grow and grow.