Social cash transfer offers women hope
Women under Social Cash Transfer Programme in Traditional Authority Masula in Lilongwe District have expressed hope that the safety net initiative will bail them out of poverty.
During a tour to assess the impact of the programme, it transpired that some beneficiaries accumulated assets such as goats while others had built decent houses.
One of the beneficiaries, Filiza Mangalasi from Kagwandipenya Cluster, said before the programme, she was struggling to provide basic necessities for her grandchildren whose parents died long ago.
She said: “But now I can pay their school fees, courtesy of the programme.
“To address my economic challenges, I bought pigs and started a small-scale business after joining a village savings and loans group.”
Another beneficiary Sautseni Chitenje, 35, a single mother of four, also thanked government for the initiative, saying it transformed her life.
“I had no proper house to accommodate my four children, but now I have built one,” she said.
Lilongwe District Council principal social welfare officer responsible for Social Cash Transfer Programme Sarah Chimodzi said they talk about the programme’s goals during supervision exercises.
“I am pleased because we are moving in the right direction as beneficiaries are able to do multiple investments.”
Lilongwe District has 29 375 beneficiaries under the programme which is being implemented nationwide through the National Local Government Finance Committee with financial support from the Multi-Donor Trust Fund and the World Bank.
