Bolgatanga, Jan. 10, GNA - Four communities in the Bawku Municipality, chosen to benefit from the government sponsored Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme, are to start receiving monthly grants next month.

Beneficiary households would receive eight Ghana cedis where there is one eligible member and for each additional eligible person in the same house, an additional two Ghana cedis would be given until a limit of three people.

The amount would be increased by three Ghana cedis for four eligible household members and above.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Wednesday in Bolgatanga Mr. Christopher Baboorah, Upper East Regional Director of Social Welfare Department, said the LEAP programme was aimed at reducing extreme poverty, hunger and starvation among the most severely disabled and incapacitated persons. It would facilitate access to social services like health and education and help provide regular meals to the extreme poor orphans and vulnerable children aged below 15 years, especially those affected by HIV/AIDS.

LEAP is also meant to empower Care Givers of orphans, poor mothers and farmers to acquire skills and resources that would move them out of extreme poverty and break the intergenerational poverty cycle.

Mr. Baboorah said the programme was still in the pre pilot stage and beneficiaries had satisfied conditions that include enrolling all children in the house in school and ensure that they attend classes regularly and do not drop out.

They would also have to register with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), have all newborn babies registered with the Birth and Deaths Registry and ensure that no children in the household is trafficked or engaged in child labour.

The project chose to give cash to enable beneficiaries spend the money on their priority needs and also give them a sense of responsibility that would boost their self-esteem.

The beneficiary communities in the region include Zawse, Baribari, South Natinga, and Danduiri/Gingande all in the Bawku Municipality. The Department of Social Welfare is carrying out the LEAP programme in 20 other districts