Siaya county women representative Dr. Christine Ombaka has called on the National Government through Parliament to increase allocation of the National Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF).
She also called for more women groups to register in order to benefit from grants being issued by NGAAF.
She said this as she presided over distribution of bursaries to students from different schools in Alego Usonga constituency.
Dr Ombaka also oversaw the distribution of blankets and other items to the elderly and those who were recently affected by floods.
Part of the items included umbrellas to small scale traders who mainly consist of women who had no stalls to shield themselves from the scorching sun and rain, in a bid to empower them in their income generation activities.
While issuing cheques to some well performing self-help groups, Dr Ombaka called on Siaya women to form a united front in order to take full advantage of the financial assistance provided by the National government through her office.
“If we can form groups of various ventures to empower ourselves such as table banking and agriculture, and make good use of such opportunities provided through NGAAF, then we have immense potential to empower our communities as well,” she said.
The groups that benefited from the funding included Young Investors Group, a youth group from township ward, which engages in farming, table banking and empowering other youth through funding and conducting follow ups on their businesses.
The women representative said that it was her duty to empower the women, the youth and people living with disability.
By Calvin Otieno
