Bothar presentation
When the proceeds of the recent holy well 'Bothar' walk by Donncha O Dualining in Kilcullen were presented to the RTE presenter last night, it was revealed that the amount raised was the largest in any of the series of walks so far.
The cheque for 5,820 euros was presented by Philomena Breslin on behalf of the local organisers at a small gathering in Kilcullen Heritage Centre.
The money will be used to send three cows to one of the countries where the Bothar charity operates.
In addition to the money raised from sponsorship on the walk itself, the funds benefited from a presentation by local actors of 'Poets in Paradise' the same night in the Town Hall Theatre. The production was first performed for the Millennium celebrations and is a hypothetical coming together in Heaven of Patrick Kavanagh, Brendan Behan and William Butler Yeats, along with Yeats's Guardian Angel. The evening also included a performance by the Nas na Ri Singers.
In the Bothar scheme, which was set up with the support the late T J Maher in 1991, farm animals are provided to families in selected countries, on the basis that their progeny are given to other families in the same places.
The cumulative results of the output from one in-calf cow, both with several generations of calves and the milk and cheese produced during the life of the animal, can have major impacts on marginal community economies. The motto of the organisation is 'helping people to help themselves'.
"It is just like the way things were in Ireland 60 years ago," says Frances Murphy, Director of Pastoral Communications at the charity. "People helped each other. If a neighbour was short we gave them a bit of buttermilk, or some cheese. Even small things like that can make all the difference."
In addition to the difference of having a renewable source of various foods in a community where a family gets a Bothar animal, the income which is gained from selling the produce is often used to educate children in the family, further rising the tide of community wealth.
Bothar sends cows and goats out from Ireland, and where these aren't suitable to the local environment the organisation will buy farm animals locally to give a 'dig out' to needy people.
Last year Bothar shipped nearly 500 in-calf cows to the countries in which it operates. Already this year that figure looks like being significantly surpassed.
"When it first started 16 years ago, 20 animals were sent out and people thought it was a mad thing," Frances Murphy says.
For those who wonder why Bothar doesn't just buy animals locally, there's a simple answer. An Irish cow will give 20 times the amount of milk as will an indigenous animal in someplace like Tanzania. An Irish goat will give 16 times the amount of milk as its local counterpart.
Before any family gets an animal they have to participate in a training programme, to make sure that they can look after it and make the best use of their new resource.
The charity's growth has been phenomenal in the last five years and it now operates in more than 40 countries. One of the most recent locations is closer to home than might be expected, in Kosovo in the Balkans.
Bothar will next year be sending out a study tour with representatives from communities who have donated funds, so they can see for themselves how the scheme is working in the field.
Donncha O Dualing has been raising both the profile of Bothar and funds for the organisation through his innovative 'holy wells' walks around Ireland. He is aided in the effort by Skoda Ireland, which provides him with a car to get around to the various venues.
Brian Byrne.
