‘With the increase, it will become easier for us’, says Mais Social beneficiary in MS

A resident of Oliveira I, in Campo Grande, Mariana de Carvalho, 32 years old, is one of the 54 thousand beneficiaries of the Mais Social program in the state. For the housewife, the increase announced by the State Government, from the current R$300 to R$450, in each benefit, will greatly help those in need.

“Mais Social helps my family a lot. When the payment date arrives, I shop. First for my nine year old son. I also look forward to promotions. I don’t spend it all at once. I’m using it little by little,” he explains.

Mariana reveals that Davi Lucas, her son, really likes milk and cookies. “Sometimes I leave a little for the end of the month and with the increase it will be easier for us to buy things for the children. You know what a child is like, right?”

As in the other 78 municipalities in MS, residents of the Capital and beneficiaries of Mais Social are periodically monitored through social assistance meetings promoted by the program’s teams.

With three children and living alone, Tamara Lemes, 33 years old, says that the Mais Social benefit is essential. “Helps a lot. Yes, it helps, it helps a lot. Even more so, like, in my case, I have a health problem, I don’t have the conditions to work, so, it helps me, it helps me a lot, it helps with my diet,” she says.

She also explains how she uses the benefit during the month. “I go to the market and buy the mixture, milk, I have a small child, I have a 13-year-old, a nine-year-old and a six-year-old, so I buy milk, things from home. Knowing how to manage, not buying unnecessary things, helps.”

Tamara also says that the benefit must be used conscientiously and that the increase will be great. “It’s about using it consciously. I’ve seen cases of people using Mais Social to buy inappropriate things. Using it consciously so that it gets better and better for us, because everyone uses it consciously, knowing that it is to supplement their income, their food, so, as long as the person does this, I am sure that the government will improve even more more. The person will also understand that the population really needs it, that it is supplementing its diet, because food is not easy for us to put on the table, you know? It’s for people to use consciously”, she reinforces.

Another goal for Tamara is to no longer depend on the benefit. “If I make it [em relação a melhora da sua renda]I won’t need it anymore, so I leave it to people who really need it, as there are many people who need it”, concludes the resident of Oliveira II.

The income transfer and support program for socially vulnerable families must be used to purchase food, personal hygiene items and cooking gas in establishments such as markets, minimarkets and supermarkets within the State of Mato Grosso do Sul.

According to the bill sent by the State Government to the Legislative Assembly of Mato Grosso do Sul, with approval, the new Mais Social value will be in force from January 1, 2024, resulting in investments exceeding more than R$700 million in two years.

Leomar Alves Rosa, Sead Communication
Photos: Monique Alves

Source: MS Government Advisory