It would appear that the World Food Program mission in Zimbabwe has now started giving out cash handouts to those who are struggling due to the effects of drought and austerity.
In a Twitter thread, WFP Zimbabwe recounts how they assisted an unnamed village in Masvingo recently. The village said to be suffering due to the effects of the drought with severe food shortages. One of the beneficiaries of the project in the village is a person mononymously referred to as Grace by the WFP. She is shown counting some of the cash they received from the WFP.
Last week we visited a village in Masvingo district, a hot, dry area of #Zimbabwe where people are facing high levels of hunger. Community members travel to a central location to receive their seasonal food assistance from WFP.
We met Grace, 42, waiting in the check-in line to receive her assistance. She left the house at 7 and walked 4.5 kilometers, which took 1.5 hours. Though it was already hot out, she said “I am happy to be here, because we want to be food secure.”
Grace used her SCOPE card to verify her identity and what assistance her family would receive. SCOPE is
@WFP ’s digital beneficiary management system, tracking info on the people we help and the support we provide – just one more way we’re innovating for #ZeroHunger!Grace’s assistance this season is being funded by
@USAIDFFP, with support from our partner
@AquaZim. When she watched the cash being carefully counted out, she smiled but us she would not spend it right away, but rather go home and make a budget.Grace is a single mother of five. She said her children are good students, especially now that they have regular meals. As she double-checked her assistance, she said she would use it to buy mealie (maize) meal, cooking oil, and beans, as well as pay school fees.
“Thank you @USAID; thank you @WFP,” Grace said as she put her assistance in her purse, next to her SCOPE card and her receipt. “It is good you have come here, to see the whole process and see how it is. This money is very important for us.”
The twitter thread from WFP Zimbabwe that mentions cash assistance
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