‘Because We Care’ cash grant making ends meet for Lindeners

Government’s ‘Because We Care’ cash grant will be making ends meet for hundreds of parents in the mining town of Linden, Region 10.

For Tracy Ashby, a single father of five, the cash grant means a lot. He was one of hundreds that received their grants at the New Silver City Secondary School on Thursday. The distribution was led by Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn MP.

Ashby has children in nursery to secondary. He received $19,000 for each child totalling $95,000.

“I feel so happy, the first thing I will make sure is they have food, buy lil groceries and take care of them after because remember I have to buy books. One of them in form four at this same school and I have to make sure he goes through all the school work. Plus, I have to make sure I pay the internet because it is an internet thing, so thanks a lot for this money y’all give me here,” he said.

Ashby said the money will go a far way especially since he does do not have a permanent job but does his best to provide for his children.

“I is a man is help myself, do a lil fine work on the side and thing but the main thing I does wanna make sure is they have food in the house. So, I does do lil fine work on the side, I does do lil construction work, lil fine work around the place,” Ashby said.

Angela Albert, a mother of two, said she will now be able to ensure her children have all they need for the new school term.

“The cash grant come in handy for me and my kids because currently I am unemployed at the moment and I would not be able to buy stuff for my kids the way I normally do. So, with this cash grant I am very thankful to the Ministry and Miss Priya, I am very thankful”.

Albert said before the cash grant, she was thinking of ways to provide for her children’s school needs, “I was wondering how will I be able to get things for my kids so that is why I am very thankful. In this way I can be able to buy my kids uniform and get them things to eat and so on,” the mother of two stated.

Sharing a similar story was Tex Nestor, who has children in both nursery and primary schools. He said he is grateful that the Government is making a way for him to provide for his children.

“I really feel the cash grant is a very good thing being a father of five and needing some support and this support is very blessed because it could full certain holes that you could not full up working all the time because you are not making the money. So, I would just like to thank the government for helping us the citizens to make a better way and a lighter way for our kids them,” the father of five said.

He said due to the COVID-19 pandemic things have been tough, adding that the grant came at the right time. “This money gives us a more lighter way to wake up tomorrow feeling more better knowing you can go and afford certain things and buy certain things and the kids will be more better knowing they have certain things, even though school close, you can go buy some more books and them things for them. So, this is a real great initiative that government has put into place.”

Minister Benn said the feedback from parents are that they are appreciative of the programme.

“There is a lot of thankfulness in respect of the effort. People are speaking of paying for their internet access for their children, thinking about getting tablets, doing the little things to get children ready for school come September,” the Minister said.

Minister Benn noted that the reintroduction of the programme shows that the PPP/C is a Government of its word.

“Based on our manifesto promises it says that the PPP/C in Government, we keep our promises, that we are reinstating those platform initiatives which were abandoned when we left office in 2015 and we want to re-establish a solid spring board for our country to go forward and to make sure that our mission, our vision in developing our country is effected particularly in relation to the bringing up of young children”. Several Ministers of Government fanned out across Linden and other parts of Region 10 to ensure persons benefit from the ‘Because We Care’ programme.