Challenges faced by the older persons as beneficiaries of the Social Assistance Program for Empowerment (SAGE) in Kyenjojo District.

Abstract

The study focuses on unraveling the challenges faced by older persons as beneficiaries of the SAGE program. It was conducted in Kyenjojo district. The specific objectives of the study include exploring the challenges faced by older persons while receiving the SAGE funds in Kyenjojo district where study findings showed that the challenges stemmed from the long distance moved to the pay point, poor communication, stringent requirements at the pay point and some traces of theft as well. Assessing the strategies employed by the older persons to address the challenges faced as beneficiaries of the SAGE program is the other objective of the study whereby the study findings in this revealed that the older hired public means of transport to easily access the pay points and on time, the older persons also sent their aids (registered helpers) to pick money on their behalf from the pay points and some also spent the money at the pay points, all these as strategies to combat their challenges as beneficiaries of the program. Exploring the perceptions the older persons had regarding how their challenges as beneficiaries of the SAGE program can be solved is the last objective of the study and the study findings here showed that the older persons called for the creation of more pay points, others called for an increment of their cash benefit and using mobile money as a mode of payment as opposed to queuing up for the money among others. In conclusion, the findings in this study contains elements of social protection mostly related to the challenges faced by the older persons as beneficiaries something that can be explored more to bring about lasting solutions and provision of accessible and quality social protection for older persons.