The government through the Ministry of Labour and social protection in the month of April disbursed shs 221 million to cushion the vulnerable people in Turkana county against the ravages of covid 19 pandemic.
County coordinator for children services Julius Yator said a total of shs 221, 808,000 has been disbursed to 27,726 people under the inua jamii program.
Lodwar residents queue to be screened for Corona virus.
Photo captions by Peter Gitonga
The program includes the orphans and vulnerable children, older persons, and persons with disabilities.
“Each beneficiary received shs 8,000 in their bank accounts,” said Yator.
He said there are 14,997 people under the orphans and vulnerable children who received a total of shs 119,976,000.
Older persons cash transfer benefitted 11,849 persons which saw them take home a total of shs 94,792,000.
A total of shs 7,040, 000 went to 880 persons living with disabilities.
Yator said the disbursement of funds experienced a few hitches like social distancing guidelines.
“Social distancing was a new phenomenon as the beneficiaries turned up to collect the funds. We were however able to address this challenge and ensured we protected the older persons,” he said.
Mbanking new technology also proved to be a challenge since some beneficiaries were new to the technology.
In addition, older persons had little information on covid 19 pandemic and had difficulty understanding the social distancing guidelines.
County commissioner Muthama Wambua and deputy County commissioner for Turkana central Alexander Mativo have been at the forefront in advocating for social distancing guidelines.
Wambua has also assured residents of government support for needy households while at the same time calling other partners to join the government in fighting covid 19 pandemic.
“Covid 19 pandemic is a new challenge and we all need to work together to combat this scourge,” said Wambua.
By Peter Gitonga
