Cash Relief for Kenyan Families on the Frontline of the Climate Crisis
Help send cash to families facing a relentless cycle of floods and drought in Kenya
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. For many families, this wasn’t the first time they lost everything, and it may not be the last.
Kenya’s most vulnerable communities are caught in a relentless cycle of floods and droughts. Each shock hits harder than the one before because there’s less to fall back on. Climate change is making these crises more frequent and severe.
GiveDirectly is preparing to deliver emergency cash to 700 families in the hardest-hit areas of Tana River County.
We will deliver 60,000 KSH (~$464) per family—enough to cover roughly three months of household expenses and lost farm income. Cash will help these families recover and 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 700 families. But with additional funds, we can reach many more.
We’re also building something bigger: A system to deliver cash relief whenever crisis strikes
This is not a one-time response. We’re actively building a system to deliver cash relief to families on the frontline of the climate crisis across Kenya. We’re working 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.
MobileAid uses anonymized mobile phone data and satellite imagery to identify people in need, enroll them remotely, and deliver cash directly via mobile money. It also uses forecasting models that can trigger 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 rapid cash assistance both before and after crises.
Next up: Piloting MobileAid in the most climate-vulnerable regions of Kenya
We’re planning to pilot MobileAid 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 deliver cash to 6,000 people before a shock hits, triggered by our MobileAid climate forecasting models and early warning systems. Our goal is to test and prove that we can consistently get cash into people’s hands within 72 hours of a trigger, then scale that across Kenya.
We’re building this system to last.
We’re working with the Government of Kenya to embed MobileAid infrastructure into national early warning and social protection systems. Safaricom’s data analytics and connectivity infrastructure provide the backbone for remote outreach and mobile money delivery at scale. Together we’re establishing a lasting 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 like food shipments. Donating to our Emergency Response Fund not only supports families in Kenya, it also helps 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. A portion of each donation will go to our Emergency Response Fund so we can move fast when the next crisis hits, especially in the poorest places where the world isn’t watching.
Who receives the cash?
700 families in Tana River County living in extreme poverty and impacted by recent floods, identified using anonymized mobile phone data and geolocation analysis. 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 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. Learn more about MobileAid here.
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.