Rwandan farmers enjoy a boost thanks to Loughan House prisoners

Sean McMahon

At least one of the 25 Loughan House prisoners who have been learning to rear calves destined to offer a source of income for a deserving Rwandan community, has been inspired to offer his help to an Irish international aid agency upon his release.
Bóthar has enlisted the help of some of the inmates at the open prison on the outskirts of Blacklion in rearing the cattle, donated by local farmers.
In 12 months time the heifers will be in-calf and will be ready for export to the impoverished Rusizi area of the African country.
“I think it is great,” one prisoner, who we will call Sean, told the Celt during our visit last Thursday.
Despite having no background in farming, Sean has been inspired by the aid agency’s work, and wants to continue to contribute to Bóthar’s cause.
“I didn’t know a whole lot about Bóthar,” admits Sean. “I think what they do all around the world is great and I would like to continue to work with Bóthar when I leave here.”
Sean said he would love to travel out to Rwanda, where the animals will find new homes.
Another inmate Frank, again not his real name, who is from a farming background rates the Bóthar project as “brilliant”.
“We have a paddock system, which we rotate every couple of days,” he explains.
Frank told the Celt that in-calf heifers will be distributed to poor farming families - and those families in turn will agree to pass-on the first born female calf to another needy family.
The heifers are eight months old on average, and will be put in calf at around 15 months, so they will be calving down at two-years-old. On discussing names for the calves, it comes as no surprise that Daisy has already surfaced as an option. But the inmates may be about to learn that naming their cattle isn’t always a good idea.

Satisfaction
“I can tell from my experience in Shelton Abbey,” founder of Bóthar, Peter Ireton tells the Celt, “that when these calves are leaving next year, there will be a few tears around the place – they really get attached to them.
“The calves have only been here for a number of months and the lads that are involved in working with them – you can see the change in their body language – which tells you, they get a lot of satisfaction out of doing this.”
Bóthar has been supplying Irish animals and purchasing others locally for eight years.
The ‘Bóthar Herd’ of over 300 dairy cows, and their offspring, is large enough to support a local creamery, which the aid agency began developing in 2012.
When the 31 Friesian Loughan House heifers arrive in Rusizi in late 2014, they will be greeted with an ideal climate, green grass and plenty of water. Across the river is the comparatively wealthy city of Bukavu, which has minerals and diamonds, but according to Peter, “they are crying out for milk.” As a result the high yielding Irish livestock will help provide an export market for the Rusizi area.
“To give an idea,” says Peter, “our cows would produce on average, about 20 litres of milk per day, while a local African cow does about a litre. They call our cows exotics.”

Incredible
Of course celebrity chef Nevin Maguire, hails from the nearby village and so it is only natural that as an ambassador for Bóthar he was involved in this great project.
“I have been to Uganda and see the great work they do – it is an incredible charity,” says Nevin. “They do great work for people who have nothing.”
Nevin was delighted to highlight this great initiative by calling in on Loughan House.
“I learned how to play football here. Loughan House has great memories for me and it has always been part of our community in Blacklion,” said Nevin. “I love it here. I came up and did a couple of talks with the students - hopefully they might let me back into their kitchen to cook for them some day.
Inspired by a similar project being run at Shelton Abbey open prison, the Loughan House project forms part of the restorative justice programme. Participating prisoners have undergone a training course in livestock management and received accreditation from Bóthar and V.I.V.A (Volunteers in Irish Veterinary Assistance) for animal husbandry at a presentation in Loughan House last Thursday.
“Apart from the obvious therapeutic benefits from working with animals, there is the feel-good factor that they are giving back to the community, - to a charity organisation and also getting a qualification as a result of the work – they gain tremendously, as does Loughan House Open Prison,” enthused former Loughan House governor, Ethel Gavin, now based in Portlaoise prison.
The new Loughan House governor, Liam Reilly, who arrived at the prison just over a week ago said it was a big change, because he worked for 29 years in closed institutions. “It is a breath of fresh air really and a different challenge for me.
“Governor Gavin, my predecessor has been the person behind the initiative here and I’m delighted to become part of it and I will encourage and support it”, said Governor Reilly.