BENEDICT TEMBO, Sikongo
FORTY-SEVEN-YEAR-OLD Brenda Nambo of Sikongo’s Sishosho village in Sikongo district, Western Province, was on the brink of destitution following the death of her husband in 2006.
Life was no longer the same as her family could no longer afford decent meals and other basic necessities. But the Social Cash Transfer (SCT) programme has rescued her family from the pangs of starvation. Her fortunes were transformed in 2015 when Government enlisted her on the SCT scheme. “In the past, we used to eat once. Now we are okay,” Ms Nambo, a mother of five children – three boys and two girls – said. At the time of joining the SCT programme in 2015, beneficiaries received K180 bimonthly, but Government has increased the amount to K300. This means Ms Nambo is guaranteed of a K300 cash payment every two months. This helped her to acquire a one-hectare farm in the plains where she started cultivating rice soon after being enlisted on the SCT programme. In a good rainy season, she harvests 70×50 kilogramme bags of rice. From the proceeds of rice, she started cattle farming. Ms Nambo, now a cattle trader, who is one of the role models to other beneficiaries of the SCT programme in her community, currently has 40 cattle. Two of her children have completed Grade 12, while two more are still in school at Sikongo Day Secondary School doing grades eight and 12 respectively, while one dropped out of school. Another SCT beneficiary, Jane Nolia Simasiku, has CLICK TO READ MORE