Keeping Girls in School through cash transfer: CRECCOM’s new project

In a bid to promoting girls education in Malawi, the Creative Centre for Community Mobilization (CRECCOM) is implementing a three year project called Keeping Girls in School Cash Transfer Strand.

In Ntcheu district alone, the project is expected to benefit 9,915 girls of standard 7 and 8. The project as the name implies will be providing cash (money) to the beneficiary’s mother so that they can buy school uniforms, books, shoes and other school requirements which impacts badly on the girl child in a family living in poverty.

Speaking to Nyasa Times after a briefing of the project to all the Stakeholders in Ntcheu, CRECCOM’s Executive Director, George Jobe said the project focuses the adolescent standard 7 and 8 girls.

He further said that research has shown that when families living below poverty line are faced with an option to chose who amongst their male and female children to continue with education; it is the girl child who has always been the casualty of this sinister and cruel scenario.

“We want to motivate girls who are in school to achieve their dreams hence the three year project,” Jobe was quoted as saying.

According to Jobe, the girl child is harshly faced with the misery of venturing into petty family business, doing piece works to fend for the family or at the worst being married off while their male counterparts are going to school.

Among others, the project comes in to rescue the girl child from wide spread poverty, negative cultural attitudes and harmful traditional practices.

He said some of the districts to benefit from the same project in the Southern Region apart from Ntcheu are Mangochi, Zomba rural, Blantyre rural, Chikwawa and Nsanje.

According to Jobe, 15 districts across the country will benefit from the project and about 100, 000 girls are expected to benefit by the end of 3 years. In making sure that the the Cash Transfer Program benefits the intended beneficiaries, CRECCOM will train District Based Bursary Committees (DBBC) that will be responsible for selection criteria.

To ensure transparency and accountability, CRECCOM will in conjunction with DBBC train the School Based Bursary Committee who will be doing the validation exercise at community level. The School Based Bursary Committee will also be monitoring the attendance of the girls in the respective schools. CRECCOM will also build capacity at ADC/CLUSTER level to support grievance management system.

During the implementation period of the project, CRECCOM will among other things secure payment mechanisms and provide regular and timely Cash Transfers to support these girls in all implementation districts. The NGO will also enhance the capacity of the Government to manage the Cash Transfer Program effectively.

CRECCOM is implementing this project with funding from UKaid through Save the Children.