Above: the launch of the programme

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Haitian First Lady Sophia Martelly and new Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe have officially launched a programme aimed at distributing funding to families with young children living extreme poverty.

The plan, dubbed “Ti Manman Cheri,” or “Dear Little Mother,” is being funded by PetroCaribe, and aims to reach 100,000 beneficiaries with a budget of $13 million in the first year.

It will move the money using money transfer technology on mobile phones, a technology that has already been used as part of a Digicel-UNDP programme seeking to provide construction funding for new homes.

This plan, which is also being implemented by Digicel, will transfer money regularly to mothers of children enrolled in school. Mothers with one, two or three children enrolled in school will receive 400, 600 or 800 gourdes per month.

In US dollars, that represents between $9.50 just under $29 per month.

“This is a revolution in the country,” said Lamothe, calling the plan a “clear signal” toward the improvement of living conditions in the country.

The areas of Bel-Air, Fort National, Cite Soleil and Carrefour Feuilles will be the first recipients of the programme, which Lamothe said would eventually spread across Haiti.

“I applaud this initiative and welcome President Martelly for thinking of us,” said Gina Abraham, a mother of four and new beneficiary of the programme who lives in Cite Soleil.