My name is Kiran. I belong to a small village in the district of Muzaffargarh called Jaggat Pur. We are 6 siblings and my father is a laborer by profession and the sole wage earner in our household. With limited finances, I had to drop out of school and started working in the fields to support my family. I always wanted to continue with my studies, but by that time it felt like an impossibility. 

Recently I enrolled in skill development courses on the trade of Poultry Farming. My father is very conservative and strict, and it was difficult convincing him to let me enroll in the training program. After a lot of effort, I was able to persuade him though, and so glad that I took the pains to do so. It might not be the kind of education that I had in mind, but this is more empowering because I am gaining knowledge on a particular field that I can monetize. 

I have seen people around me take care of chickens, but I never knew the effort it took to do so even at a small scale. Their feed, making a proper shelter for them, the cleanliness standards required, the types of poultry, disease knowledge and prevention; there are so many details that I did not know about, but am now learning. Previously in my mind, poultry farming was done just for eggs; but there are so many more possibilities. Chickens can be raised for meat, for sale, for the production of fertilizer and so much more. 

I want to continue working on this trade. I aspire to open a small-scale poultry farm in my village and contribute to the income of my family. 

The name of the chicken is Memo. Don’t worry, I don’t want to raise Memo for meat.