As the World Bank and the Gambia government target expanding the Nafa cash transfer program to another 15000 household beneficiaries across The Gambia, the National Nutrition Agency (NaNA) has commenced a massive enrollment program for new selected beneficiaries.
The project aims to alleviate poverty by supporting vulnerable and extremely poor households in various districts.
The new Nafa cash transfer expansion program, which is jointly funded by the World Bank and the Gambia government, is set to cover about 15000 household beneficiaries of the remaining sixteen rural districts.
The expansion program is jointly implemented by NaNA in collaboration with the Department of Community Development (DCD) and Directorate of Social Welfare (DSW), under the Nafa program of the Resilience, Inclusion, Skills and Equity (RISE) project.
The newly selected beneficiaries are currently undergoing a massive enrolment in 16 districts, who would subsequently benefit from the upcoming Nafa cash transfer disbursement program targeting extremely poor households.
The Nafa program, a subcomponent of the RISE Project, is being implemented in the 20 poorest districts in the Gambia with plans to scale up to the entire country.
The enrollment process, which is currently ongoing in various places, includes Kuntair village with 101 beneficiaries and 49 household beneficiaries from Njaba Kunda in the North Bank Region-East.
These include 24 household beneficiaries from the community of Jallow Kunda Ramatoulie in Central River Region-North and 41 beneficiaries in Niani Kayai, Kuntaur Ward in Central River Region-North.
Awa Dumbuya of Kuntair village, a beneficiary of the ongoing enrolment program, hailed the project funding partners and implementing partners for what she described as an awesome initiative.
She said that, considering the hardship/challenges they currently face, she hopes the new expansion project will be of great support to their livelihoods and in the best interest of the whole family.
Ebrima Jaiteh, chairman of Njaba Kunda Village Development Committee (VDC) in North Bank Region-East, welcomed the new expansion project, acknowledging that all can benefit from the project.
“As beneficiaries of this new expansion project, it is noteworthy that the money is not meant just for an individual; it should be utilized in the best interest of the entire household,” he urged.
