The Nigerian Red Cross Society is to commence a cash transfer to 300 vulnerable households to cushion the effect of COVID-19 pandemic in Taraba state, northeastern Nigeria.
State Secretary, Taraba Red Cross Branch Office, Manja Martin made this known on Friday in an interview with BusinessDay correspondent in Jalingo, on the 2020 World Humanitarian Day.
He said, three local government areas were selected to benefit from the programme in the state, adding that the amount would be determined after conducting a market survey to ascertain the cost of commodities.
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According to him, the organisation would change from donating food items to vulnerable households to cash, believing that it would reduce the cost of transportation and would impact better on the beneficiaries.
However, the Branch Secretary also announced that as part of activities marking the 2020 World Humanitarian Day, they have selected volunteers from 3 LGAs who are currently undergoing Training on Risk Communication and Community Engagement in the prevention of Covid-19 pandemic.
He said “20 participants were selected from each of the local government areas of Takum, Gassol, and Jalingo with a view to assisting in sensitizing the local communities on the dreaded Corona Virus”
“The number of selected volunteers for the training was caught down because of the limited resources that were available for the branch. I call on wealthy individuals and organizations for more donations to assist the needy in the society”, he said.
Some of the participants who spoke to journalists, Halima Yakubu and Emmanuel Allah Sarki described the training as timely, considering the fact that the whole world is experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic and commended the Nigerian Red Cross Society for the initiative.
According to them, they have learned a lot and promised to stepdown the training to enlighten the people in their localities that Coronavirus is real as well as to encourage them to abide by the Covid-19 protocols to avoid contracting and spreading the virus.
