Kennedy Murwira
GUTU – Villagers of Gutu district are heaving a sigh of relief after Care International’s electronic cash transfers, that had temporarily been suspended earlier this year, were reintroduced to cushion impoverished villagers from extreme hunger.
The payouts were first introduced by Care International in 2015 to help feed thousands of people facing food shortages after a severe drought which affected most parts of the district during the previous farming season.
Most of the areas in Gutu district received very little or no rainfall resulting in most crops failing due to moisture stress.
The cash programme was unfortunately suspended earlier this year with many councillors in the district saying the beneficiaries of the programme would once again be left with no food at all.
The programme was introduced to replace the expensive system whereby the non-governmental aid organisation would ferry maize grain to the communal areas.
Under the new system, beneficiaries receive a small amount of money in their EcoCash wallet which they can easily withdraw and procure maize grain for their families.
Elated villagers who have already received their money for the month of July told TellZim News that the reintroduction of the cash programme came as a relief as most of them did not have any other means of putting food on the table.
“This is indeed good news since most of us could hardly afford one meal per day. The money that we receive from Care International will go a long way in helping us to put food on the table. We wish to thank the organisation for timely giving us this assistance,” said William Hamadziripi who resides in Ward 19.
His sentiments were echoed by other villagers who said they were very grateful to the humanitarian aid organisation for its work in poor and marginalised communities.news
