Over one million Rwandans from 161,821 households have been lifted out of poverty through the Vision 2020 Umurenge Program (VUP), according to a press release from local government ministry.
VUP provides low income families with direct cash for upkeep, a program that was started in 2009.
VUP has three components; direct support where cash is transferred to the poorest households unable to work, public works where the poor are employed, as well as financial services where residents are trained and given credit to set up profitable businesses.
Each family gets a monthly allowance ranging from Rwf7, 500 ($10.4) per-person, to Rwf21, 000 ($21) for a family of five a day. According to Munyeshyaka, selected sectors that need immediate support receive interest free start-up loans, temporary jobs on public works-sites and the direct cash to frail residents, all under VUP.
Initially, the program started with Rwf4 billion (roughly $10 million then) budget, supporting only 30 sectors. Early this year, the World Bank donated $70 million (Rwf49 billion) to support the program.