Speaking during the cash transfer at Bajana village, Mbombeh Ceesay, a representative from the Department of Community Development, explained that the cash transfer would help the people of Foni, especially the poorest of the poor households. She added that the initiative will help in boosting their daily lives by elevating them from their poverty status.
“We have 117 beneficiaries at Bullock, 39 from Bajana and 55 from Sutu Sunjung. The exercise is carried out in one pay point where all three communities meet to receive their monies. This is their third time receiving a cash transfer of D3, 000 and the payment is done for every two months,” she said.
Dwelling on the selection of the beneficiaries, she stated that the selections were fair, based on the answers provided by the people within the community while adding that her team normally introduces Social and Behavioural Change Communication (SBCC) to the beneficiaries before handing them the cash, in order to enable them with ideas on how they can spend the money.
Ansumana Badjie, a beneficiary from Bullock village also highlighted the significance of the cash rollout, saying when someone is called to receive money, the person feels delighted.
“This is a great gesture because it will really help us in terms of feeding our families. This is my third time collecting the money and it has been helping me in taking care of my family's needs. We were advised on how to utilise the cash and I will adhere to that advice. I will not use the entire money for feeding but rather give some to my women to venture into business,” he said.
Ida Darboe, another beneficiary from Bullock, expressed delight for being given cash and advised them on how to use it for sustainability.
“The cash has been so helpful because since I started collecting the money, it has sealed many poverty holes in my family. I bought many chickens for business purposes because I realised that spending all my money is not the solution because the project will remain,” she stated.
