The vast arid plains of northern Kenya, central Somalia and eastern Ethiopia are suffering one of the worst droughts seen in recent times. Rain has not fallen in some of these areas for over a year and this has gradually resulted in a full blown humanitarian crisis.  According to UNICEF, in some areas of northern Kenya, close to 40% of the population needs emergency feeding.   In other parts of the affected regions, these numbers are reaching approximately 30%, twice the 15% emergency threshold.   As in many crises, the worse affected are children. In a country like Somalia with a population of 3.7 million, this famine could be taking the lives of 1,200 children, with over 2.5 million children estimated to be acutely malnourished and in need of immediate life-saving help.   Soaring food prices and the on-going conflict in the horn of Africa has only increased the intensity of the famine.

A massive fundraising effort has been initiated by ‘Kenyans for Kenyan’, a non-profit organization which aims to raise sh500 million in four weeks towards famine relief efforts.  This initiative is a joint effort between various businesses including Safaricom, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), and the Daily Nation newspaper.   During the first 24 hours of the launch of the appeal, the initiative raised over sh 13 million via M-PESA. A number that keeps growing now that Airtel Money and Yu Cash have been added to the list of mobile money options Kenyans can use to donate funds.  This campaign’s success not only highlights the efficiency of a mobile money platform in distributing funds in times of need, but it also  serves as a lesson for charities and development agencies of the value of leveraging mobile technology and social networking in fundraising and disbursal.  At the time of writing, the latest mobile money donations exceed sh 208 million..

If you live in Kenya, please consider donating to the Famine Fundraising Campaign.  The funds raised by Kenyans for Kenya will be administered by the Kenya Red Cross Society to help people worst affected by the drought.  Follow the steps below on your mobile money menus:

• Donating via M-Pesa

1. Select Pay Bill from the M-Pesa menu
2. Enter business number 111111
3. Enter account number 111111
4. Enter the amount you wish to donate
5. Enter your M-Pesa PIN
6. Confirm details are correct and press OK

 

• Donating via Airtel Money

1. Select Send Money from the Airtel Money menu
2. Enter ‘redcross’ as the nickname
3. Enter the amount you wish to donate
4. Enter your Airtel Money PIN
5. Confirm details are correct and press OK

• Donating via YuCash

1. Go to the yuCash Menu on your phone and select ‘Send Money’
2. Enter the Business Bill Payment No. (Short Code) ’200140′
3. Enter the Amount you wish to donate
4. Enter your Donation Instruction in the Message field – ‘Leave Blank’
5. View the Bill Payment Confirmation screen and verify all details. Press OK to continue.
6. Enter your yuCash PIN and press ‘OK’
7. Receive Transaction Acknowledgement via SMS

Alternatively, if you are outside of the region, you can donate online via the Kenyan Red Cross or UNICEF.