By Olimatou Coker
Dusu Fatty, a native of Foñi Mayork and beneficiary of the Nafa project, said the programme has brought peace and harmony in her community.
Speaking to The Standard recently in Mayork, Fatty said the programme has been helpful in elevating poverty in beneficiary communities.
The Nafa project is a subcomponent of the RISE project, which is being implemented in the 20 poorest districts in The Gambia. According to the implementing agencies, three out of the 20 districts have graduated from that extreme poverty line.
The beneficiaries in the remaining 17 districts continue to receive a bi-monthly cash transfer of D3000 and social and behavioural change communication activities.
The programme is currently under the National Nutrition Agency (NaNA), the Department of Community Development (DCD) and the Department of Social Welfare (DSW).
The Resilience, Inclusion, Skills and Equity (RISE) project which is jointly funded by the World Bank and the Gambia Government (GoG) is poised to provide a foundation for sustainable livelihoods to the poor and vulnerable. It has five components with various stakeholders from different institutions.
“This project has brought us joy and unity. When we take this money home, we buy rice and save the rest to start or grow our businesses,” she explained.
However, she said because rice now cost between D2,250 and D2,300, the D3,000 they receive is quite small.
“We urge the project to increase the amount because what remains after we buy a bag of rice is usually enough for only few days of fish money,” he said.
She added that the project has been a lifeline.
“The SBCC training, in particular, has transformed and taught us a lot of things that were never clear to us.”
68 beneficiaries were paid in Foñi Mayork.
In Kiang Sankandi, LRR, another beneficiary, Adama Darboe, spoke of the programme’s impact on her financial stability.
“I am a businesswoman and since this project started my business has grown significantly. I use part of the money to invest and save the rest for family use.” Several other beneficiaries across the country echo the same sentiments.
