Some 1, 500 vulnerable families from Murang’a County have been tapped to get financial support in a safety net programme funded jointly by the government and the World Bank.
The families, which are drawn from Murang’a East and Murang’a South sub counties, are expected to start receiving financial support for consumption and for establishing income generating projects by the end of this month.
In the initiative dubbed Economic Inclusion Programme (EIP), each family is expected to receive a stipend of Sh2, 000 per month for a period of one year and another Sh30, 000 as asset transfer seed capital.
Murang’a County Coordinator for Social Services Ms Lucy Gakera said the Sh2, 000 is to help the families buy food among other basic commodities.
Gakere on Monday told KNA that the programme is being piloted in two sub counties in each of the five counties including Kisumu, Taita Taveta, Makueni, Marsabit and Murang’a.
“This is cohort two. The first group benefited in 2021 and the participants were still selected in the two sub counties where in each sub county, 750 households were selected,” Gakere said.
The government, she noted, has deployed mentors to train and guide the families on the sustainable projects they can invest with the seed capital.
“The mentors are already on the ground training and guiding the families to ensure they prudently use the funds especially in establishing sustainable projects.
“The funds for seed capital will be given in two tranches, where initially they will receive Sh20, 000 and later Sh10, 000,” she added.
Gakere averred that the families were selected from an enhanced single register that was done in 2022 which has ranked the households in terms of their vulnerability.
“Currently we are opening bank accounts for the beneficiaries and the exercise is expected to be through in a week’s time with the families expected to start receiving their financial support by the end of this July,” She stated.
The beneficiaries, Gakere said, are also expected to form village savings and livelihood groups to help them make some savings.
“The savings are meant to help the families after the end of the programme. They are well guided on how to make the savings to ensure after the support, they will be self-reliant,” added the County Coordinator.
Gakere called upon the families to prudently utilize the funds granted and establish sustainable projects which will be a lasting solution for their vulnerability status.
“With the given guidance, we expect by closure of the programme, the families will have a source of income. We will follow up to ensure no one uses the monies for unworthy expenses,” She asserted.
By Bernard Munyao
