Elderly, PWDs in Jinja get Shs80m grant

Jinja District has secured a Shs80million grant to cater for Special Interest Groups’ income generating activities.

Jinja District LC5 chairman Moses Batwala said government offered this grant particularly to help the elderly and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) to set up projects to enable them live a better life.

“I am happy to announce that the government released Shs80m to the two vulnerable groups attending a training on how to manage projects set up to generate income for your better life,’’ Batwala said on April 23.

According to Batwala, “both groups are very hard working when empowered with capital, which they lack sometimes.”

He noted that “the decision by government to give them grants reduces their dependence burden on the people assisting them.”

Batwala further directed technocrats in charge of Special Interest Groups to verify their numbers in the district for better planning.

He added: “Please ensure that you register everyone in the district, especially the elderly, so that we make a follow-up on their social grants because I got information that many of them in villages are missing it.”

The district focal person for the elderly and PWDs, Sarah Tibafana said four groups of about twenty elders are to share Shs20m, while twelve groups of about sixty PWDs share Shs60m.

The groups, she said, were selected from the sub-counties of Butagaya, Buwenge and Kakira.

The Jinja District Community Development Officer, Ivan Kyangwa, said limited funding poses a big challenge to the implementation of this programme, adding that the two groups are faced with inferiority complex, weakness of the bodies and continuous theft of their items since they are vulnerable.

The councilor representing female elders, Irene Mawanda, asked the beneficiaries to uphold integrity as elders by not misusing money given to them.