By Gitahi Ngunyi
Kenya is the eighth most charitable nation in the world according to a new survey released today by Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).
Results of the survey show that Kenya scored 54 percent of the giving index score, just five points behind the Indonesia which has been ranked the most charitable nation this year.
Kenya was just four points behind US, the third most charitable nation.
Significantly more people across the world are helping a stranger and volunteering their time, this year’s CAF World Giving Index has found, but the proportion of those donating money has declined.
For the third year in a row, the African continent has seen a strong improvement in its score.
Many African countries have risen up the rankings; nine of the 21 most improved countries are on the continent of Africa, including Niger, Madagascar and Morocco, whilst in the top 20 of the overall ranking, four are African; Kenya, Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone..
Libya is the most generous country in the world when it comes to helping a stranger, with 83% of respondents having done so in the month prior to interview and Nigeria returned to the top 20 of the overall ranking for the first time since 2013, in 16th place.
Despite it being a difficult year for DR Congo, it finished as the most improved country with a one year score 12% higher than its five year average.
The giving gap between continents has also narrowed, with Africa once again catching up. The gulf between the lowest scoring continent, Africa, and the second highest scoring continent, Asia, has shrunk to just 1%. This compares to 6% five years ago.
Indonesia tops the CAF World Giving Index for the first time. Polling was carried out in 2017, before the earthquake and tsunami which struck the country in September 2018.
The CAF World Giving Index, the leading comparative study of global generosity, records the number of people who helped a stranger in the past month, volunteered their time (21.1%, up from 20.8% last year) or gave money to a good cause (29.1%, down slightly from 29.6% last year). This year more than 150,000 people in 146 countries were surveyed as part of the Gallup World Poll. As a result, the Index highlights statistically significant global shifts in behaviour even when changes may appear to be small.
Other key findings of this year’s CAF World Giving Index include the fact that Western countries have bounced back.
“Last year, every western country in the top 20 had a lower World Giving Index score. This decline has now been largely reversed,” said CAF in a press release.
Developing countries performed strongly with this year’s Index shows high levels of generosity in Haiti, with the country featuring in the top 20 for the first time.
Singapore also features in the top 20 for the first time; the country ranked as low as 64th place just five years ago.
There have been increases in volunteering and helping a stranger, which may be as a result of a number of schemes to increase volunteering in the country over recent years
The Index is published just under a month before #GivingTuesday – November 27 – the global day of giving when people are asked to give their time, money or voice to a good cause.
John Low, Chief Executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, an international charity which helps people and companies to give worldwide, said: “It is forever humbling to see how people across the world continue to be moved to help others, giving their time, donating money and helping strangers.
He said it is a basic human instinct to lend a helping hand, and it is always amazing to see how people in countries which have suffered conflict and natural disasters are stirred to help those in need.
“It is good news that this year’s CAF World Giving Index shows a continued increase in giving across Africa. It is also encouraging that last year’s decline in western countries seems to have been reversed.
“But we should be concerned that for the second year running there has been a decline in the proportion of people donating money to good causes. It is a reminder to all of us in civil society that we should never take giving for granted.”
