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Poor people in Bawku to be put on welfare
Bolgatanga, Jan. 10, Ghanadot/GNA - Four
communities in the Bawku Municipality, chosen to benefit
from the government sponsored Livelihood Empowerment Against
Poverty (LEAP) programme, are to start receiving monthly
grants next month.
Beneficiary households would receive eight Ghana cedis where
there is one eligible member and for each additional
eligible person in the same house, an additional two Ghana
cedis would be given until a limit of three people.
The amount would be increased by three Ghana cedis for four
eligible household members and above.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on
Wednesday in Bolgatanga Mr. Christopher Baboorah, Upper East
Regional Director of Social Welfare Department, said the
LEAP programme was aimed at reducing extreme poverty, hunger
and starvation among the most severely disabled and
incapacitated persons.
It would facilitate access to social services like health
and education and help provide regular meals to the extreme
poor orphans and vulnerable children aged below 15 years,
especially those affected by HIV/AIDS.
LEAP is also meant to empower Care Givers of orphans, poor
mothers and farmers to acquire skills and resources that
would move them out of extreme poverty and break the
intergenerational poverty cycle.
Mr. Baboorah said the programme was still in the pre pilot
stage and beneficiaries had satisfied conditions that
include enrolling all children in the house in school and
ensure that they attend classes regularly and do not drop
out.
They would also have to register with the National Health
Insurance Scheme (NHIS), have all newborn babies registered
with the Birth and Deaths Registry and ensure that no
children in the household is trafficked or engaged in child
labour.
The project chose to give cash to enable beneficiaries spend
the money on their priority needs and also give them a sense
of responsibility that would boost their self-esteem.
The beneficiary communities in the region include Zawse,
Baribari, South Natinga, and Danduiri/Gingande all in the
Bawku Municipality.
The Department of Social Welfare is carrying out the LEAP
programme in 20 other districts.
GNA.
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