Cash assistance provided six goats and illumination at home

The flood came at night in November 2023. Hawa Yussuf had already received a warning message from the Kenya Red Cross on her phone. However, she could not read the message, as she had never attended school. The village was flooding for the first time in Yussuf’s life. She did not know what to do. Yussuf was pregnant and she had two small children.

“We were standing in our home at night and the water just kept on rising. I was really scared. I was afraid that I might lose my children and the unborn child,” Yussuf says.

In the morning, the water was waist-deep. The Kenya Red Cross volunteers waded in the water to help the villagers evacuate. A relative picked up the first-born child and Yussuf carried the two-year-old Daud Hussein to safety. Wading in deep water while pregnant and carrying a small child was burdensome. 

“There were no roads, cars or motorcycles left anywhere,” Yussuf says. 

The flood destroyed the walls of the building and carried away domestic animals and personal belongings.

“I was only able to take the birth certificates of my children with me.”

Climate change exposes new areas to floods

Hola a city in Tana River County experienced record floods in November 2023. The Kenya Red Cross had just begun a project funded by the European Union to improve the early warning systems. Normally, Tana River County is an arid area but, due to climate change, the area is exposed to more floods than before during rainy seasons.

The floods also reach new areas, including the village of Hawa Yussuf. The Kenya Red Cross offered communities emergency aid in the form of tents, food, clean water and necessary supplies, including kitchen utensils. 

In addition to the warning systems, the Red Cross is developing a cash assistance system for humanitarian crises in Kenya. Cash assistance is an efficient method of supporting rebuilding efforts after disasters as each family can use the money to buy the supplies they most desperately need. The money is used locally, which supports the economic recovery of the entire area.

Cash assistance helped to diversify sources of income

Hawa Yussuf received cash assistance to her phone two times. She used the money to buy three goats and started building a more durable house with her husband. The goats had three kids, so Yussuf sold them. With the profits from selling the goats and the second cash assistance, she started farming for the first time by planting maize and lentils. 

The income from selling the maize harvest allowed the family to fix the house more and repair the motorcycle of Yussuf’s husband. Her husband started driving a boda boda, a type of motorcycle taxi, and the family had another source of income. 

“Looking at my life, I feel it is now better than before. When I receive more income from selling crops, I want to buy more livestock so I can receive extra income. I want my children to have a good future, education and a better life.”

Thanks to the family’s higher income, they were able to install a light that uses solar energy in their home for the first time. The first-born, who goes to school, can now do their homework at home in the evening. 

“I am afraid that we will experience another flood. But I think I now know what to do better than before,” Yussuf says. 

Text: Minttu-Maaria Partanen

Communications Specialist