By Alpha Abu
It was all smiles at the Rokel Bank, Congo Cross branch yesterday as heads of 150 families affected by various fire incidences in twelve communities across Freetown queued up at the financial facility to receive vouchers for cash support provided by Catholic Relief Services.
The whole exercise being facilitated by Caritas Sierra Leone continued late into the afternoon as the jubilant beneficiaries many of whom are single parents received monies ranging from 6,500 to 14,500 New Leone.
Caritas Supervisor, Isatu Zainab Mansaray told Politico that a good number of the recipients are women raising children all by themselves. She said the amount of money varies depending on the vulnerability of the beneficiaries including the number of dependents they have.
In a joyous mood, Abibatu Kamara of Cockle Bay and a single parent with three one of whom has disability issues said she was first going to cook a sumptuous meal, rent an apartment and invest the rest of the cash into a business . Elizabeth Dyke living together with her husband and four children lost their Savage Street home in a fire some months ago.
‘’Since our apartment was gutted by fire I and the children have been staying at a friend’s house, and my husband too is temporarily living at his friend’s place’’, she explained to Politico.
She said they might even build a small corrugated shelter with the money, to live in, or might rent an apartment, and use the rest of the money as petty trading start up.
The beneficiaries were drawn from communities such as Cabala Town,Thompson Bay, Savage Street, Culvert and Luke Street. Partner representatives from Freetown City Council and National Disaster Management Agency were present at the bank to observe the process.
According to Idriss Gibson Mansaray of the CRS EMPOWER WARO project through which the exercise was facilitated, the payments were done using a cash voucher system that he said ‘’allows recipients to exchange the vouchers, provided in paper or electronic form for goods, services or cash as needed. Mansaray acknowledged the funding by CRS’ EMPOWER WARO based in Senegal
Copyright © 2024 Politico (07/06/24)
