By Mustapha Jarju and Haddy Ceesay
The National Nutrition Agency (NaNA) with its counterparts recently dished out cash amounting to three thousand dalasis (D3, 000) to the vulnerable households in the Foni Districts as part of the Social Safety Net Project funded by the World Bank in partnership with the government of the Gambia.
This is the third time the people of these communities are receiving such a cash transfer which is done every two months as a recovery fund for the deadly global COVID-19 pandemic which has affected many vulnerable communities in the country and the world by extension.
Mbombeh Ceesay, a representative from the Department of Community Development at Bajan said, the cash transfer will help the people of Foni, especially the poor households who are benefitting from the cash support.
She explained that the initiative will help in boosting their daily lives by elevating them from their poverty status quo. “We have 117 beneficiaries at Bullock, 39 from Bajana and 55 from Sutu Sinjang. The exercise is carried out in one pay point where all three communities meet to receive their money,’’ she told The Voice.
Dwelling on the selection of the beneficiaries, she stated that the selections are based on the answers provided by the people within the communities, adding that her team normally introduces Social and Behavioural Change Communication (SBCC) to the beneficiaries before handing them the cash in order to enable them with ideas on how they can spend the money.
Ida Darboe, also a beneficiary from Bullock, expressed delight and thanked the officials for their support.
“The cash has been so helpful because since I started collecting the money, it has sealed many poverty holes in my family. I bought many chickens for business purposes because I realized that spending all my money is not the solution because the project will fade one day,” she stated.
Ansumana Badjie, another beneficiary from Bullock Village also highlighted the significance of the cash rollout; saying when someone is called to receive money, the person feels delighted. “This is the third time I am collecting the money, and it has been supporting me in taking care of my family’s needs. We are advised on how to utilize the cash, and I will adhere to that advice. I will not use the entire money for feeding but rather give some to my wives to venture into business,” he promised.
