By Olimatou Coker
At least 2000 people in various communities in Foni under the SSNP programme have received the eleventh cycle of the Nafa cash transfer. A team from Nafa was stationed at Foni Bintang Karanai to effect payments to the beneficiaries. The monies are to support beneficiaries to build their resilience.
The project, supported by the World Bank and the Gambia government, is being implemented by the National Nutrition Agency, Department of Community Development and Directorate of Social Welfare and it is meant to alleviate poverty in the rural areas.
Arabiatou Sambou, a community development Officer, said Foni Bintang happened to be a pilot zone because, after the PMP, they realised that they are among the three districts that are the most vulnerable.
“Looking at the livelihood of people living in Foni, supporting them with such an initiative is a good move. If they know how to use the money wisely, they will be able to sustain themselves after the project. This is their eleventh disbursement,” she said.
Siaka Suwareh, NaNA’s IT officer, said the distribution is done based on data given to the National Social Protection Secretariat collected by GBoS.
“The challenges are not much but we do have some difficulties during the enrolment process when it comes to spelling of names; absentees during the enrolment process and having both the principal and procreator during the process,” he said.
He added that data is an important component when implementing projects of such magnitude.
“In Foni, we are targeting about 755 households following a rollout which was about 1,516 and overall, 2000 households will benefit,” he said.
Sira Gibba, a beneficiary, said the cash transfer has been very helpful.
“We do use some of the money for feeding and save the rest. With the money gained, I bought a goat and sheep that could generate income in the future,” she said.
