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- Social Cash Transfer Program in Malawi Brings Hope, Change to Ultra-Poor Households in Mzimba District
Social Cash Transfer Program in Malawi Brings Hope, Change to Ultra-Poor Households in Mzimba District
Malawi's government social program is transforming livelihoods of ultra-poor households in Mzimba, ending poverty, per beneficiaries ,writes Alinafe Sambo.
Malawi-A social program run by the Malawi government to lift ultra-poor households out of poverty is making significant changes in Mzimba, where beneficiaries tout it as a game-changer in ending their poverty and transforming their livelihoods, writes Alinafe Sambo.
Over 14,000 people from Mzimba district have benefited from the social cash transfer program, a government initiative that began in 2010. The beneficiaries are from all ten traditional authorities in the district.
"The program aims at helping over 14,000 people in both Mzimba South and Mzimba North," said Shadreck Mingo, social welfare officer responsible for social cash transfer in Mzimba South, in an interview with AfricaBrief.
According to Mingo, the program targets the less privileged so that they can meet their basic needs. Beneficiaries are chosen based on their daily needs and health status.
"The program aims at changing the lives of Malawians from rural areas so that they can fend for themselves and their families, send their children to school, and make sure that they bail themselves out of poverty," disclosed Mingo.
Apart from the monthly allowance they receive, the government has given every household an additional K75,000 this year to cushion them from hunger and other unforeseen circumstances.
Lwase Chipeta, one of the beneficiaries from Kwajaji village, TA Mzukuzuku in Mzimba South, expressed gratitude for the program's impact on her family.
"Since my husband got sick in 2001, everything is on me, and being a woman, it is a challenge to raise our children on my own and also look after my sick husband. But now I can manage to buy food for my family and pay school fees for my children. I can gratefully say that a lot of things have changed in my family because of this program," she said happily.
She has managed to buy pigs and goats with the money she receives from the social cash transfer program and started a small business.
Another beneficiary, Steven Chunga, from Kaphikanjoka village, said he has also greatly benefited from the program since 2010.
"In the past, my life has been hard. I was struggling to feed my family with the menial jobs I was doing, but now our lives have changed because we can eat at least two meals a day. I also now have 6 pigs, which are a source of income for my family," said Chunga.
Margret Nyirenda, whose husband died many years ago and who is raising her children on her own, is another beneficiary from the social cash transfer program who has managed to build a house from the money she receives.
"Being a widow, I have been facing a lot of problems, like a lack of food and provisions for my children's school, but now all that is in the past because of the social cash transfer program. I have managed to build a house, which has been my long-time dream. My family is very happy," added Nyirenda.
T/A Kampingo Sibande has praised the government for the implementation of this program, saying it is helping to lift a lot of households out of poverty in the district.