Understanding why Kenya is a world leader when it comes to generosity

Cover photo from KCDF^*

By Grace W. Maingi, Executive Director, Kenya Community Development Foundation.

Growing up there were many a time I watched the news, not out of interest in what was happening nationally, but because it was the only show on television prior to what we popularly referred to as the “last programme” which was usually a crime-busting show or TV soap drama aired once a week. With no internet or on-demand television, watching the news was the only way to be entertained and an opportunity to sweet-talk my parents into letting us watch the late-night show. On the black and white TV, we watched the national broadcaster air the news of the day which predominantly covered national politics including various harambees the President had presided over that day.

Harambee, which means pull together in Swahili, is the official motto in Kenya written on our coat of arms. The first President of Kenya, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta used it as a rallying call to encourage the nation to come together to raise funds for local development. The word’s etymology has raised several issues but that is not the focus of this blog. From a young age, I remember attending several harambees including fundraising events for weddings, and medical and education appeals for many of my relatives and close family. It was normal for us as young girls to be stationed at the entrance of a fundraiser and tasked to sell rose lapels to aid in raising money. On many occasions, my mother would slip me some money to hold onto during a fundraiser only to be spent during an auction session. Giving was part of our everyday lives and community solidarity was rooted in sayings including “haba na haba hujaza kibaba” loosely translated to mean, putting together little by little leads to much or filling the basket.

The 2022 Charities Aid Foundation World Giving Index ranked Kenya as the second most generous country in the world. Seventy-seven per cent of the Kenyans polled have helped a stranger, 55% have donated money and 52% have volunteered their time. Kenya’s position rose in rank despite the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy and limitations imposed on citizens due to gathering and travel restrictions. In times of great human suffering, generosity grows as shared humanity makes it difficult for one to enjoy what they have when another is suffering.

The rise in convenient channels of giving, including the widespread use of mobile money applications supported by an increase in mobile phone users, is one of the avenues that support Kenyans to give¹. The proliferation of online petitions and fundraising platforms such as M-Changa² has also broadened the ability for Kenyans to give to causes dear to them.

Kenyan giving transcends familial appeals and extends to national calls for action. For example, the Kenyans for Kenya funds drive held in 2011 raised over USD 5.4 million in cash and close to USD 2.4 million in kind to help address the famine situation in Northern Kenya and included the ability to donate through a mobile money platform free of transaction fees³.

The Standard Chartered Bank has been hosting the Nairobi Standard Chartered Marathon which is currently the largest single-day sporting event in Kenya. All proceeds from the marathon go towards the Futuremakers Initiative, which works to ensure that disadvantaged young people, especially girls and the visually impaired, can gain skills and expertise to improve their chances of getting a job and or starting their own businesses. In 2020/2021 the Futuremakers Initiative set aside USD 100,000 as part of its response to the Covid-19 pandemic to provide support to over 600 households in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kilifi in partnership with the Kenya Community Development Foundation. The households accessed community hygiene and health packages, food relief packages, and cash transfers as well as resilience interventions to help individuals improve their livelihoods⁴. The Standard Chartered Bank has made public the initiatives supported through the marathon and the high numbers of runners at the event continue to signify the high levels of trust in it.

It is normal for big supermarket chains to run fundraising drives for the elderly, orphanages, the poor, and drought-stricken areas that include staff contributions and go beyond cash to in-kind donations that one can buy alongside their shopping⁵. There is a presumption of trust that the supermarket chain will partner with organisations working with those in need, and/or hand over all the funds or goods bought. Previous partnerships with relief organisations such as the Kenya Red Cross have aided in building accountability. Many times, supermarket chains will run feedback campaigns where they televise the distributions and/or document them in other forms as a means of accountability⁶.

At the local level, giving is also part of the everyday way of life in Kenya. From the regular contributions made for the social need of a relative to the voluntary service at one’s place of worship, alumni or resident association. Kenyans across the board are engaged in various forms of philanthropy, but they may not see themselves as philanthropists since the image of a ’typical’ philanthropist is that of a rich person who dishes out money because they have more than they can use.

Accountability from the household to the local level is also downplayed even though it takes robust forms including daily accounting of funds received and dispensed on WhatsApp and other messaging platforms, to the election of the “most trusted and tested treasurer” in community groups. One key takeaway for us working with communities is that when all is said and done, local funding ultimately improves aid efficiency and allows for greater accountability. When funds are closest to where they are needed, they are utilised better and accounted for by those it has assisted.

Kenya has many key conditions to continue being a very generous country: local accountability, strong community ties, a culture of giving, and trust in institutions. We hope to continue seeing this growth in years to come.

——————————————–

*About nine years ago, the Nkoilale Community Development Foundation, a community-based organisation operating in the neighbourhood of the world-famous Masai Mara Game reserve, was exposed to the community philanthropy approach. With support from KCDF, they were able to spend some time figuring out how to address the problem of their children who were not attending school because of attacks from wildlife in the area, which at times was fatal. The community dialogues led to initiating what became community feeder schools where their children could attend until they were in class four and had learnt the traditional ways of avoiding attacks from lions and other predators. At that age, they were old enough to move to the main government school which was some six-seven kilometres away. To build three feeder schools, the community organized several livestock sales where the men brought their bulls, the women brought their sheep and goats, and young men brought their younger herds. It was such a joyful event after about ten months, to see the great enthusiasm from the local community when the school was officially opened by a county official who could not believe what the people had done with their resources and a small match fund from KCDF.

*Grace W. Maingi, Executive Director, Kenya Community Development Foundation*

Grace Maingi is a human rights lawyer who has focused her energies in supporting social justice work in Kenya and is passionate about equality. Over the last twenty-two years she has worked at various social impact organisations leading strategies around constitutionalism, civic engagement, Women’s rights, access to justice, civil society strengthening and community development. Grace is currently serving as the Executive Director at the Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF) focusing on the growth of philanthropy in Kenya and enhancing civil society sustainability. Grace also serves on the Council of the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists and is a Co-Chair of the WINGS Lift up philanthropy working group.

To get first access to our blogs every month, subscribe to our newsletter here.