West Pokot County has intensified its fight against extreme poverty with the disbursement of KSh 5.5 million in seed capital to 897 households through its Poverty Graduation Programme.
The initiative, spearheaded by Governor Simon Kachapin in partnership with Village Enterprise, aims to empower vulnerable households through financial inclusion and sustainable livelihoods.
Governor Kachapin announced that the latest round of funding, amounting to KSh 2.8 million, has been allocated to 456 households across Siyoi, Endough, and Weiwei wards.
This follows an earlier disbursement of KSh 2.7 million that benefited 441 households, bringing the total number of participating families to 897.
“All of these households have undergone comprehensive training in business and financial literacy to help them start small businesses and generate sustainable incomes,” the governor stated.
“Through our monitoring systems, we are already seeing encouraging results. Participants have formed savings groups that are now collectively saving an average of KSh 135,000 every month.”
The initiative forms part of West Pokot’s broader anti-poverty strategy, which addresses the needs of the 26.3% of the county's population still living in extreme poverty.
Other components of the strategy include the Ondoa Nyasi program, which is replacing traditional grass-thatched houses with safer and more permanent structures, and bursary schemes aimed at supporting vulnerable children's education.
To ensure long-term impact, the county has passed the Poverty Graduation Policy and Bill and allocated KSh 10 million in the upcoming budget to expand the programme.
Governor Kachapin expressed appreciation to all partners involved: “I thank Village Enterprise, our Gender and Finance departments, local leaders, and community stakeholders for their continued commitment to improving the lives of our people.”
The West Pokot Poverty Graduation Programme stands as a promising model for rural economic empowerment, aiming to create a path from dependency to self-sufficiency for hundreds of families.