Ultra-poverty is now being driven out of the household of 31-year-old Flora Banda, a youth beneficiary of the Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP) in Kasungu District.
Coming from a poor background, Banda now owns a tailoring shop at Lisasadzi Trading Centre in Senior Chief Kaomba, where she has employed another youth and is passing on tailoring skills to fellow young people in her area.
The young mother of two never dreamed of reaching where she is today, given the hardships her household once faced. But her story began to change when she was identified as a beneficiary of the Social Cash Transfer Programme under the government’s Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Programme (SSLRP).
The SSLRP aims to support ultra-poor and labour-constrained households through bi-monthly cash transfers, helping them achieve food security, keep their children in school, and move out of poverty.
While many consider the bi-monthly payments a mere drop in the ocean of poverty alleviation, COMSIP Cooperative Union Limited, under its Livelihoods Support Programme, mobilized SCTP beneficiaries into savings and loan groups, encouraging them to save part of their income and undergo various training programmes.
One of COMSIP’s interventions, particularly targeting youth beneficiaries, is the Youth Skills Challenge Programme, which equips young people with vocational skills and provides them with start-up toolkits to begin their own small-scale businesses.
Banda, a beneficiary of the Youth Skills Challenge Programme, narrated her journey: “It was in 2024 when I completed a four-month tailoring training and was certified by TEVETA. I received one sewing machine and related equipment as start-up capital. With the money I save through my COMSIP group, I managed to open this shop. Since then, I have bought two additional machines and employed my fellow youths.
I’m also training others, and one of my trainees has already opened her own shop. I make over K150,000 per day, which I save and use to support my household that once depended on piecework to afford daily meals.”
According to COMSIP District Coordinator, Christin Josiya, they have so far mobilized 173 savings and loan clusters formed by SCTP beneficiaries in Kasungu. Out of these, 17 clusters have been certified as cooperatives, running various businesses across the district — a development that aligns with the objectives of the Livelihoods Support Programme.
“We are pleased with the transformation among beneficiary households in COMSIP groups, including the youths. Flora is an example of many young people who have applied the skills they acquired during training to attain household assets and achieve food security — which is exactly what SSLRP aims to achieve,” said Josiya.
In Kasungu, over 19,000 households are currently benefiting from the Social Cash Transfer Programme, up from 17,000 households before the 2023–2024 retargeting exercise.
Given Mukisi, the Principal Social Welfare Officer for Kasungu, commended COMSIP for complementing government efforts, saying its interventions have played a crucial role in helping beneficiary households escape extreme poverty.
She also urged beneficiaries who are not part of COMSIP groups to join so they can experience similar positive outcomes.
The District Chief Community Development Officer, Topsy Kachere, also applauded COMSIP’s work, noting that group members are now taking a leading role in community development initiatives and demonstrating a positive change in mindset.
COMSIP Cooperative Union Limited is implementing the Livelihoods Support Programme with support from the World Bank and the Multi-Donor Trust Fund, through the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC).
By Topson Banda
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