TANZANIA (October 2009)- Naisula Estomiy is a 34-year old mother of two living in Olkereyan village on the outskirts of Arusha in Tanzania.  In June 2009, Naisula attended a poultry production training session sponsored by the USDA-funded Jatropha Agriculture and Nutrition Initiative (JANI) and implemented by Partners for Development and a number of other implementing partners.

Based on her intelligent questions and lively participation in the training, Naisula was selected by other villagers to become a chicken vaccinator.  With support from JANI staff, she set up a regular schedule of chicken vaccinations in her village to protect them from Newcastle disease- which kills 70% of chickens annually in Tanzania.

Before the vaccination program, villagers were unwilling to invest much in raising chickens since most of them died from Newcastle disease. They rarely provided food for their chickens and instead left them to scavenge for food.  The vaccination program has significantly lowered chicken losses and villagers now feed their chickens and experience higher yields.

Naisula has increased her flock by 200% and collects 15 eggs per day (as compared to the pre-vaccination time when a whole week often passed with no egg collection.)  Naisula is also able to collect a small fee for her vaccination rounds which reach 3,000 chickens every few months.

This income plus increased eggs and chicks has meant she can afford more food for her family and school fees for her two children.