Over 500,000 people will now receive their bi-monthly cash disbursements of Ksh 4000 shillings in March this year. Among the beneficiaries will include old people aged 70 and above, the severely disabled and orphans.

These three groups have been enlisted on the single registry under the social protection program.

There will now be about 1.2 million people already in the system and who are benefitting from the cash transfers countrywide.

There are 353,000 orphaned children, 47,000 people with severe disabilities as well as 310,000 older persons of 70 years and above currently benefiting.

The single registry according to Evelyn Mwangi from the Social Protection Secretariat has eliminated fraud which was witnessed in the formative stages of the program.

Ms Mwang says, “currently those people whose details have been captured on the registry are known and that when one exits the program through death for instance, their remaining family members can benefit from the cash transfers for two months before their details are struck out.”

Susan Wamuguna an administrative officer from National Council for Persons with Disabilities says the council is trying to better the lives of people living with disabilities even with a meagre budget of a billion shillings annually.

Currently they disburse Ksh 20,000 annually to children with disabilities in institutions designed for physically challenged in the country.

The council also offers Ksh 30,000 to those in primary and secondary schools while those in colleges and universities receive Ksh 40,000 and Ksh 50,000 respectively.

Wamuguna added that in 2007 they trained 300 teachers in sign language.

She said this program is bearing fruits with a manifestation of improved health, high school enrolment, improved physical accessibility in various institutions, increased opportunities for the physically challenged as well as general increase in participation in various activities.

Wamuguna adds that the main challenges they face as a council dealing with physically challenged as part of social protection programs is that they do not have a board of directors which can articulate their issues comprehensively.

There is also no clear institutional framework to guide the work that they are involved in.