Zambian govt. source $10m to support vulnerable children

By Francis Maingaila
Lusaka (4-02-18) The Zambian government has sourced a total of $10 million from cooperating partners to support vulnerable and adolecent children, including street in Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces.

Community Development and Social Transfer Minister Emerine Kabanshi told journalists at the PF Interactive Forum in Lusaka that over 100 000 target children in two provinces will benefit before the program moves to other provinces.

According to the ministers, the government is also working on modalities of reintegrating the vulnerable children to their families after acquiring life serving skills from the donor driven project which will run from 2018 to 2021. “The aim of this project is to support and strengthen family values.”

She explained that the Zambian government is committed to supporting the neglected poor people in the Zambian society through the social cash transfer. “Social transfer was couched by the government to reduce the rural poverty where facilities are lacking and many people hardly afford to acquire the social services to enable them lead a better life.”

She suggested that the number of beneficiaries from the time social transfer scheme was introduced in 2014 has grown to 23000 in 2018. The government has set 1000 000 beneficiaries by 2021. ” The social cash transfer scheme has also improved the number of enrollment in schools to the extent that parents that used to fail to send children to school are now able to pay for their children.”

She added that the ministry has also another program of training people in various entrepreneurship skills at cost 360 million. “A total of 20 000 girls will also be training girls and will have their school feed paid for them to enable them remain in schools.”

Besides this, she explained, the ministry is committed to supporting the elderly persons in society. “We have embarked on another project of building homes where abandoned elderly persons, including safety houses for both victims of human trafficking and gender based violence are being built. Some of these homes have been completed already and commissioned.”

She assured that the government will not tire in supporting the vulnerable in society on an understanding that in every person deserve a better life.