By Marion Kwambai

Two months ago, Anna Katumbi, 32, a single mother of 3 who lives in Mathare Slums Nairobi County was homeless and had to seek shelter for her children from friends and relatives.

 She is a casual labourer and on a daily basis she was forced to leave her children behind and go to the nearby Eastleigh business centre to look for menial jobs to be able to afford the needs of her family.

In July 2019 her youngest child, David, 1 ½ years old was diagnosed with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) during an outreach program at Baraka Dispensary in Mathare and was admitted into the treatment program. She said that she was unable to make enough money to afford a balanced diet for her infant.

Ms Katumbi was selected to be a beneficiary of the Unconditional cash transfers (UCTs) in Mathare informal settlements and she has finally been able to provide shelter and food and basic needs for her children.

“Since receiving the Ksh 10,000 from Save the Children, we have finally afforded our own home. Right now my children are able to get better food such as milk, omena, and beans that I was not able to afford previously,” said Katumbi.

Due to COVID-19 effects and restrictions, Ms Katumbi wasn’t able visit the dispensary to check on her baby’s progress but she was given a Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) tape and trained on how to use it at home.

 “At the start of the year, the MUAC tape was at red but now my sons health has greatly improved, he has even gained 2kgs and the tape is at yellow meaning he is doing better,” said an elated Katumbi.

Katumbi, like many other beneficiaries, is very grateful for the unconditional cash transfer and is looking forward to a better life for herself and her family since they all depend on her for their daily provisions.

The unprecedented global spread of COVID-19 has seen series of actions and measures taken by various governments and jurisdiction to contain of the disease.  The economic consequences of the pandemic are likely to have a far greater impact on the long-term health, wellbeing and poverty levels of the ordinary citizen.

Unconditional cash transfers allow poor households the choice and flexibility of allocating resources to meet the needs they find most pressing. Save the Children has distributed a total of Ksh 4,960,000 to date. In Mathare informal settlement, feedback expressed by the beneficiaries is that the donation has had significant welfare-improving impacts, both economically and psychologically. Among many of the poorest households in the informal settlement, 496 households were randomly selected (with criteria of orphans, disabled, single headed families and households that had loss of income, with all being moderate acute malnutrition and severe acute malnutrition cases) to receive the transfers.  The total beneficiary reach was 2000 children and 1000 adults.