Stanchart contributes shs 122 million directly to UNICEF and Red Cross for COVID-19

Early last month residents of Kibera scrambled for food donation from well wishers including Raila Odinga, forcing the police to disperse them with teargas. After the mess at Kibera, the CS for Interior Fred Matiang’i directed that all COVID-19 related donations be channeled through the  Kenya COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund’s offices, a directive that Stanchart has decided not to abide by. Instead, Stanchart has channeled its shs 122 million donation directly to UNICEF and Red Cross.

You shouldn’t wonder why Stanchart opted to bypass the  Kenya COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund. In late April, Mutahi Kagwe presented to parliament a document detailing how the Ministry of Health spent shs 1.3 billion meant for COVID-19 mitigation measures, where up to shs 4 million was spent on tea and snacks while another shs 2 million was spent on airtime, despite Safaricom having provided free airtime to the  National Emergency Response Committee on Coronavirus, the taskforce that oversees the  Kenya COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund.

Having bypassed the COVID-19 taskforce, Stanchart provided to the Red Cross shs 32 million that will be directed towards the provision of medical support to those who have tested positive for COVID-19, purchase of necessary protection gear such as the PPE for staff and volunteers, and help finance the distribution of food for those impacted by COVID-19.

That means UNICEF will receive shs 90 million that will be used for the education and protection of children against the impact of COVID-19. Part of the money will also be used to ensure as many children as possible receive the ongoing online education that have been launched by the likes of StarTimes in partnership with KICD