Kenya has emerged as the most generous country in Africa and the 2nd in the world, in a recently report released by Charities Aid Foundation's (CAF) World Giving Index.
CAF has been producing its World Giving Index for more than a decade and in this edition, data was gathered in 114 countries, representing over 90% of the world’s population.
The CAF’s World Giving Index is a global survey that has interviewed more than 1.6 million people since it was first formed in 2009. Every year since its inception, CAF asks participants whether they have helped a stranger, given money or volunteered for a good cause over the past 30 days.
The rankings produced were not based on the amounts of money given or the number of volunteer hours worked.
The results which were compiled in June this year laid bare the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on charitable giving, but that did not prevent Kenya from emerging 2nd behind Indonesia which was ranked as the most generous country.
Kenya has long history of generosity with terms like “harambee” coined and used to express the intention of giving by Kenyans. Kenya has in the recent years taken an active role in engaging in acts of generosity and giving. An example of charitable causes in Kenya is the charity cause dubbed ‘Kenyans for Kenya’ which was launched by Kenyan Red Cross to lobby individual Kenyans and local corporate organizations to contribute funds to help fight drought in Kenya.
Kenya is also home to countless charitable organizations which are constantly involved in acts of charity.
A recent example of Kenya’s willingness to give is the recent case of the Omosh who shared his story of financial struggle with Kenyans who came to his rescue, donating over a million shillings to the former Tahidi High actor.
Corporations even moved in to contribute by building Omosh a home which is nearly complete. Omosh however came out in interview to ask Kenyans for more, claiming that what people had offered him was not enough.
It is then self-evident that acts of selflessness and altruism by Kenyans sometimes go unnoticed, and sometimes unappreciated, which was the feeling of many following the move by Omosh’s claim he received less money than had been pledged by many.
CAF’s report of Kenya’s generosity might after all be predicated on the real generous soul of Kenyans and their quickness to want to give, given the recent events showing Kenya’s willingness to give, either as citizens or corporations.
