President Ruto has promised a new start for single mothers. He has said the government plans a KSh 20 billion initiative meant to train and empower women with business skills.
The question on every one’s mind I guess is if this one would actually reach the women who need it most. According to the president, the fund is supposed to train 600,000 women (single mothers, youth, etc.) and will be implemented via county and national partnerships.
As a country we already have existing women’s empowerment initiatives and we hope that this will integrate with those to make them even better. This is a good idea, if only it can be taken seriously like Kibaki and Raila’s “old people” and “widows” schemes that have been running smoothly for almost a decade now.
If you didn’t know, there is a grant that old people receive at the end of the month, same to women who lost their husbands and have kids to raise. I am not sure it works in the urban centers, but I know it has been working beautifully without any glitches in rural areas. And honestly, these grants have been a lifeline to so many.
Read on 👉 What the Single Mothers Fund Can Learn From the Old People’s Grant
What remains unclear at this point though is who exactly qualifies as a “single mother”? Also, will there be direct funding or is it just about training? The president says the fund is targeting 600,000 women, but how will the selection or verification be done?
When and where can women apply?
As with everything about this government, we’ve heard big numbers before … .How or when this will be implemented is for us to wait and watch. (Remember the Uwezo and hustler fund and how they have struggled with access and sustainability.)
As Kenyans, we welcome the idea, but whether it will be successfully implemented or not is a story for another day.
