VOA常速英语2016--转账科技方便肯尼亚贫民窟群众

转账科技方便肯尼亚贫民窟群众

Irene Okoth and her five children have been living on 50 cents a day. That is what she earnsrecycling garbage from the nearby dump. But now, her family will be getting some help from anaid group called Concern Worldwide International, through its "urban livelihoods¹" program. AndOkoth will not have to travel to a bank or an aid center to get it. The money will be put directlyinto her hands through a mobile telephone system called M-PESA, introduced in Kenya in 2007.Okoth says it doesn't matter that she does not even own a phone. I will go to the M-PESAperson. I will give her the SIM card to put for me in their phone. The secret PIN I will put it inmyself and then I will remove the money. Through the M-PESA money transfer system,subscribers deposit cash through registered agents and notify recipients² by text message tocollect their money at any one of hundreds of convenient locations. In a place like Korogocho,one of Nairobi's informal settlements known for its grinding poverty and crime, M-PESA is alsothe safest option. Emily Macharia, who started up a shop in Korogocho through funding fromConcern Worldwide, says people are more vulnerable to theft if an aid agency representativedelivers money to them directly. Everybody will know that, that woman, she has gone there,she is going to give her money. You see? The environment we are living in, it is not good forus to expose ourselves. It is good for having M-PESA with us. Convenience is also a reason theprogram works well. Amina Abdulla is one of Concern Worldwide's program managers. It takesless than 15 minutes for us to move the money from our account to the beneficiary's account,less than 15 minutes. In terms of them being able to withdraw. there is a huge network ofM-PESA agents, particularly in the slum. Every 10 steps you take, there is an M-PESA agent, soin terms of accessing their money, it's pretty easy. Now Irene Okoth is one of M-PESA's newestcustomers. She received her payment, the local equivalent of about $20 (US), and hasimmediate plans for the money. As for now, I have arrears³ on my rent. For the first cashtransfer, I will take 1,000 [shillings] and start the fish business," Okoth said. "I'll give 500 [shillings] and give it to the landlord, [and] will take the remaining 500 [shillings] and do thebudget for my house. Okoth says her first experience with M-PESA has dispelled⁴ the doubtsshe had about using mobile phone technology.

艾琳母子六人每天的口粮是50分。这50分是她从附近的垃圾站回收垃圾得来的。而现在，她们一家将会得到一个名为“关注世界”的援助组织帮助，该援助计划名为“城市生活”。而艾琳一家不必大老远跑到银行或者援助中心，就能得到援助资金。

这笔援助资金可以通过肯尼亚07年引进的M- PESA电话系统，直接交到艾琳手上。艾琳说，即使她没有手机也没关系。我可以去M-PESA系统负责人那里。我给她我的SIM卡，她帮我放入他们的手机中。然后我输入PIN码，就能转走援助资金。有了M-PESA转账系统，捐款人可以将钱存放在已注册的代理点那里，并通过短信方式通知收款人选择数百个办事处中离自己近的一个去转款。对Korogocho这个内罗比知名的贫民窟来说，M-PESA是最安全的选择。埃米莉就是“关注世界”援助计划的受益者之一，她通过援助计划开了自己的店。她表示，如果援助机构将钱直接交给他们，收款人很容易被偷。每个人都能看出来，那个女人去那了，要拿钱了。明白吗？生活在这样的环境里，暴露自己不太好。有M-PESA帮我们真好。方便也是这个援助计划一顺百顺的原因之一。阿米娜是“关注世界”计划的负责人之一。把援助资金从我们的账户转给受益人账户，只需要不到15分钟，不到15分钟哦。为了让受益人方便取款，M-PESA系统安排了很多代理，尤其是在贫民窟。每走10步，就能看见一个代理点，所以要取钱很容易。艾琳是M-PESA系统最新的一批顾客之一。她接到了援助款，大约是20美元，并迅速有了计划。我现在还拖欠着房租。对于第一笔援助款，我要用其中的1000先令来创办渔业。再把500先令给房东交房租，然后剩下的500先令我用补贴家用。艾琳表示，M-PESA系统带给她的第一次用户体验很好，让她消除了对使用手机科技的所有顾虑。

1 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

2 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 arrears   

n.到期未付之债，拖欠的款项；待做的工作

参考例句：

• The payments on that car loan are in arrears by three months.购车贷款的偿付被拖欠了三个月。
• They are urgent for payment of arrears of wages.他们催讨拖欠的工钱。

4 dispelled   

v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His speech dispelled any fears about his health. 他的发言消除了人们对他身体健康的担心。
• The sun soon dispelled the thick fog. 太阳很快驱散了浓雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》