Since March 2019 the JPS in collaboration with Catholic Relief Services and Social Welfare/Caritas Bamenda have been engaged in a 4 Months Pilot Project on Providing Food and Non-Food Items (NFIs) to IDPs (Direct Beneficiaries) with the use of E-Vouchers.
This pilot project had as direct target, 300 Food Insecure Households (1,800 individuals) in Old Town Quarter, Bamenda II Subdivision, and 8 vendors (Food and NFIs) as indirect targets in the Bamenda Main Market.
The main objectives of the project were to support Vulnerable IDP Families meet their basic needs, and also to improve the capacity of implementing partners to integrate innovative and appropriate Market-Based Cash Transfer Mechanisms in their Emergency Response Programmes.
Activities implemented included sensitization about the project, targeting, registration, validation, selection of Beneficiaries & vendors, setup and management of feedback and complaint mechanisms, trainings on beneficiary rights, and card distribution to beneficiaries. Most of this was done with the use of technology; Android Smartphones, Tablets, Smart Cards, CAT Platform). Beneficiaries within this phase received 02 Food Transfers, and 01 NFI Transfer.
At the end of the pilot phase, a total of 283 Households and 1,573 IDPs and 08 Vendors benefitted.
As lessons learnt, beneficiaries were fully involved at every stage of the project, and other Community Stakeholders were involved in targeting. The E-Voucher System greatly minimized fraud and the cumbersome nature of having to mobilize IDPs for distribution of support.
The next phase of this project will run from June 2019 to February 2020 targeting 21,000 IDPs and 4000 Households in neigbourhoods within Bamenda I, II, III and Santa Subdivisions in Mezam Division of the North West Region.
