Cash Relief for Kenyan Families on the Frontline of the Climate Crisis
Kenya is being battered by climate shocks, and families on the frontline need cash to recover and prepare.
Help us send cash relief to families caught in a cycle of recurring floods and drought
Heavy rains that started in March have triggered widespread flooding across Kenya. More than 70,000 people were displaced as floods destroyed homes, washed away crops, and wiped out small businesses. But this is not a one-time disaster.
Kenya has long faced punishing cycles of floods and droughts that hit the same vulnerable families again and again. Homes rebuilt after the last flood are submerged in the next. Crops planted after a drought are washed away before harvest. Families who were already struggling are pushed further to the edge with every cycle. Climate change is only making it worse.
We’re building a system to deliver cash relief to families at the frontline of Kenya’s climate crisis
GiveDirectly is launching a response to deliver emergency cash to 700 families in the hardest-hit areas of Tana River County right now. But we’re also doing something bigger: building a standing system to deliver cash relief to families across Kenya whenever crisis strikes.
We’re partnering with the Government of Kenya, Safaricom, JBA Consulting, IDinsight, and Google.org to develop this system using MobileAid, our technology-driven approach to delivering cash quickly and remotely at scale.
Here’s how it works:
- Finding people in need. MobileAid uses anonymized mobile phone data and satellite imagery to identify people living in poverty and impacted by crises. We use cell tower locations to map phone users in high-need areas and identify the poorest individuals by analyzing phone usage patterns—like call frequency and duration—which can predict poverty with stronger accuracy than using location alone.
- Enrolling them remotely. Once identified, individuals receive an SMS inviting them to self-enroll for cash assistance by dialing a short code, completing a brief survey, and verifying their identity digitally—no in-person registration required.
- Paying them directly. Enrolled individuals receive payments directly via mobile money. MobileAid also uses flood and drought forecasting models that can trigger cash payments before shocks hit, giving families time to plan ahead, protect assets, or move to safety.
This model has been tested in Togo, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and the United States, delivering $44 million in rapid cash assistance both before and after crises.
Right now: Responding to floods in Tana River County
We’re launching an emergency cash response in Garsen, a town in Tana River County where recent flooding devastated neighborhoods with high levels of poverty and food insecurity. We will deliver 60,000 KSH (~$464) to 700 of the hardest-hit families—enough to cover roughly three months of household expenses and lost farm income. Funds will help families meet urgent needs like:
- 🍛 Food, clean water, and medicine
- 🏨 Shelter and home repairs
- 💳 Phone and healthcare bills
- 🚜 Tools and resources to rebuild livelihoods
Our current fundraising goal of $550,000 covers these 700 families. But with additional support, we can reach many more.
We’re also planning to pilot anticipatory cash in Tana River, Turkana, and Kilifi—located in the arid and semi-arid regions of Kenya that face recurring floods, prolonged drought, and persistent food insecurity. The pilot will reach 6,000 people before a shock hits, triggered by our MobileAid climate forecasting models and early warning systems.
The goal: test and prove that we can consistently get cash into people’s hands within 72 hours of a trigger, then scale that across Kenya.
Building a system that lasts
This isn’t a one-off response. We’re embedding this infrastructure into Kenya’s national systems, aligning with the National Drought Management Authority’s early warning frameworks and working with the National Social Protection Secretariat to strengthen shock-responsive social protection. Safaricom’s telco infrastructure provides the backbone for data access and mobile money delivery at scale.
The vision: a standing national system so that when climate disasters hit, families already have a lifeline in place.
This work is part of GiveDirectly’s emergency cash moonshot
Our moonshot goal is to deliver emergency cash within five days of any crisis, anywhere in the world. That’s radically faster than the weeks or months families typically wait for traditional aid. When you donate to our Emergency Response Fund, you’re not just helping families in Kenya today. You’re helping to deliver faster cash relief to families hit by the next crisis, especially in the poorest places where the world isn’t watching.
Learn more about our emergency cash moonshot here.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where does my donation go?
Donations through this page will go directly to families in Garsen, a town in Tana River County where recent flooding devastated neighborhoods with high levels of poverty and food insecurity.
Who receives the cash?
700 families in Tana River County living in extreme poverty, identified through our standard enrollment process using poverty data. We do not charge fees or add conditions; recipients decide how to spend the money based on what they actually need.
How much does each family receive?
Each family will receive 60,000 KSH (~$464) — enough to cover roughly three months of household expenses and lost farm income. Our current fundraising goal of $550,000 covers these 700 families. But with additional support, we can reach many more.
Why does giving now matter?
Families already struggling with extreme poverty are pushed further to the edge when natural disasters hit. More than 70,000 people were displaced by the recent floods, with homes destroyed, crops washed away and businesses wiped out. But this is not a one-time disaster. With each cycle of punishing floods, more families see their livelihoods destroyed, undoing years of progress with fewer opportunities to recover.
Has the MobileAid model been tested before?
Yes, this model has been tested in Togo, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and the United States, delivering $44 million in rapid cash assistance both before and after crises.
What can families spend their cash on?
Recipients themselves decide how to spend their cash to best meet their urgent needs, recover from this crisis, and build resilience to future crises. Many families choose to spend their cash on immediate needs such as:
🍛 Food, clean water, and medicine
🏨 Shelter and home repairs
💳 Phone and healthcare bills
🚜 Tools and resources to rebuild livelihoods
What is GiveDirectly?
We’re a nonprofit that lets you send money directly to the world’s poorest, no strings attached. In the last decade, we’ve delivered cash to over 2 million people across 15 countries, and we research the impacts it can have for families in need.
What if I’d like to make a major gift?
We’d love to hear from you! Reach out to us at info@givedirectly.org.
Is my donation tax-deductible?
Yes, donations are tax-deductible in the United States. We accept all major credit and debit cards, PayPal, checks, wires, stocks, cryptocurrencies, and more.
If you’re giving outside the U.S., you can still give to this campaign, but your gift may not be tax-deductible. Reach out to us at info@givedirectly.org with any questions or for more information on ways to give.