Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS) has wound up a three-month-cash transfer project it was implementing in Mangochi and Karonga districts in which the organization was giving out cash to cushion affected households from COVID-19 woes.
The project, which run from July to November 2020 with financial support from Danish Red Cross, the Netherlands Red Cross, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent, saw the organization giving out K15,000 every month to every targeted household.
Speaking when disbursing the last chunk to the beneficiaries at Chiponde border, MRCS Communications and Humanitarian Diplomacy Specialist, Felix Washon said as an organization of the people satisfied since they have managed to give cash to the targeted households.
“We are very happy to see the results, we have heard from the beneficiaries that the money we have given for the past five months has indeed helped them to get their basic needs and also for their livelihood support,” he explained.
Responsing to the people’s worry about the phasing out of the project, Washon said MRCS is aware that people are still facing financial problems but they are not promising to support the communities anytime soon.
“We understand that the project is ending at very critical time where by people from two district are hit by food insecurity, but the project was for two months then through our donors we added some months to make five”, he added.
Washon, however, commended the donors for supporting MRCS to distribute cash to the impact districts, saying the help has really assisted those who are highly negatively affected by COVID-19.
Group village headman Chiponde commended MRCS for coming to their rescue during the period of COVID-19 as a lot of them had nowhere to depend on.
“Basically MRCS has really saved me and my family. I am shocked to hear the news that they are now done with us, we are entering in the time where hunger hit us most, it’s my prayer that they should come back,” he lamented.
About 2050 households have benefited from social cash transfer from MRCS, Each household was receiving MK15 000 for five months and MK230 million has been distributed to poor households in two districts of Karonga and Mangochi.
The program mostly targeted border areas due to the challenges business people from those places experience as their businesses or livelihoods were heavily battered.
