Bondo: At least 200 registered self-help groups in West Sakwa ward, Bondo Sub County have each received Sh20,000 from MINBO Foundation, aimed at empowering them economically.
According to Kenya News Agency, who is also the area MCA, the Sh4 million donation was part of the Sh8 million raised during a recent funds drive, presided over by the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi. Osewe disclosed that another Sh4 million has been earmarked for bursaries and will soon be disbursed to support the education of bright and needy children from the ward.
The MCA pointed out that the beneficiary groups had been vetted and their bank accounts verified, adding that the money they have received would go towards boosting their diverse economic activities. ‘Today we gave out the Sh4 million empowerment money to registered groups with bank accounts, but we are targeting other sectors like catering service, bodaboda, and even table banking to ensure that all sectors of the society are covered,’ Osewe said.
The ward representative stated that the initiative to empower groups and give bursaries to needy students in the ward was triggered by the high level of requests that her office receives daily to support vulnerable groups in the area. She noted that the meager county allocation for ward development could only support key universal projects, leaving out the economic empowerment component.
‘What we get as ward development allocation from the county is so little to cover the empowerment needs of the people. Recently, we also received a circular from the county government that there are no more bursaries from the county. This has pushed me to devise ways to get funds to support the education of our needy students,’ Osewe said. She challenged fellow ward representatives in the region to embrace the culture of resource mobilization to supplement what they get from the county government rather than relying on a single source, which does not satisfy the needs of residents.
