Government to Give Aid to Poverty-Stricken Mothers
by Rod Hughes
Only two days after President Oscar Arias told Latin American nations of his plan to boost aid to farmers in the face of a worsening world food crisis, the government announced that it would give 50,000 colones per month to the most poverty-stricken women in the country.
The aid will go to some 16,000 single mothers of under 12-year-old children. The move is part of the National Food Plan announced yesterday by Minister of the Presidency Rodrigo Arias, Minister of Agriculture Javier Flores and Finance Minister Guillermo Zuniga. The plan is to go hand-in-hand with the Arias plan to stimulate production of corn, rice and beans.
In identifying mothers most in need of aid to buy food for their families, the government will rely on the lists compiled by the Mixed Social Aid Institute (IMAS), the country’s main welfare agency. (Traditionally, IMAS is one of the most underfunded and overworked agencies in the government, with client caseloads of several hundred per social worker.)