How to Register Orphans and Vulnerable Children for Inua Jamii Program

By Lydia Gichuki

To cushion orphans and vulnerable children from poverty, the government in 2004 launched Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children to meet the needs of the country’s increasing number of children made vulnerable by poverty and HIV/AIDS.

The cash transfer is facilitated through the Inua Jamii program that serves Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC), Older Persons 70+ and Persons with Severe Disability.

The program seeks to provide a social protection system through regular cash transfers to families living with OVCs in order to encourage fostering and retention of such children within their families and communities and to promote their human capital development.

The program is a collaboration between the Government, UNICEF, DFID and World Bank.

To register a child in the program one should;

• Visit their local District Social Development Officer Subcounty Officer (SCO) and Children Services Officer (CSO) who support implementation of cash transfer.
• Fill in the application form given by the officer.
• The care giver will be required  to provide your National Identification Card and child birth certificate so as to prove their age and place of residency.
• After submission of the application, bio-data will be captured for the vetting processing to begin. During vetting, applicants will have to go through a community validation exercise before the first payment cycle.
• The caregiver will be required to open a bank account with the Payment Service Providers (PSP) who handle the cash transfer. One can open your bank account with Kenya Commercial Bank and Equity Bank,
• After submission of the application and all the required documents, and lapse of vetting period usually three months, a beneficially receives first payment of Ksh. 2,000 per month through (PSP)
• Payments is usually made after two mouths which totals to Ksh 4000

To be eligible for this program a household must be extremely poor, have Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) and must not be enrolled in other CT Programs.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizens Affairs and Special Programs released KSh.8,574,848,000 for payment of Inua Jamii beneficiaries for the November – December 2021  and January – February 2022 payment cycles

Funds have been credited to accounts of 1,071, 856 Inua Jamii beneficiaries among them Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC), Older Persons 70+ and Persons with Severe Disability.

The  CT-OVC  program aims  to  improve  the  welfare  of poor households caring for orphans and vulnerable  children  (OVCs) and  reducing  poverty  among  the  poorest  segments  of  society.

Additionally, the Government also released an additional 27,109,000 for Nutrition Improvement through Cash and Health Education (NICHE). NICHE is a Government complimentary intervention that combines social protection, nutrition and child protection programming.

NICHE targets Inua Jamii beneficiaries and Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP) beneficiaries’ households with children under two years’ old and pregnant mothers. The project is implemented in 5 ASAL counties of Kitui, Marsabit, Turkana, West Pokot and Kilifi.

A household with one child under 24 months or a pregnant mother will receive Ksh. 500 per month. While a household with more than one child under 24 months and/or more than one pregnant mother will receives a maximum of Ksh. 1,000 per month.

Photo Credit; Social protection Kenya