Mboni Mberwa Abdikadir is a 40 year old and a mother of 5 children i.e. Kassim Salim Mberwa 13 years, Halima Salim Mberwa 11years, Hussein Salim Mberwa, Farhiya Salim Mberwa 7 years, and Abdimalik Salim Mberwa 6months.

She is a registered beneficiary of the ‘’The Kenya Cash Consortium – Locally-led Multi-Purpose Cash Response to crisis-affected communities in Kenya’’ program. She resides in Dagahaley at the Dadaab Refugee Complex.

She fled from Somali to Kenya on February 2023 with her 5 children out of whom 3 are albinos. Mboni’s family faces segregation and stigmization from the community due to her three children who are albinos.

‘’Having/living with three children who are albinos has not been easy for us. We face ridicule and discrimination from the community for having so many albino children. We have become so fearful and seldom to let our children out of peoples’ sight hence this prevents me from work errands to support the family with basic needs’’ She narrates

Under normal circumstances, she should be a depressed woman, pondering over where the next meal for her family should come from. In contrast, she happily heads her family that has a multiplicity of needs.

‘’This cash transfer program has trully changed my life positively i.e. i bought a matress and clothes for my children, I’m able to purchase food monthy and sun-screen lotion for my albino children because they need it when they go out for madrasa and also cater for their medication since albinism comes along with alot of health challenges due to pigmentation such as vision impairement ,sun-burns, e.t.c. ’She said.

This MPCA has been a life changing program for Mboni Mberwa Abdikadir for it has helped her to prepare, prioritize and take care of her family based on their own preferences. It has supported them to address a wide range of needs such as clothing, food, education as well as healthcare costs.

Asked how her future with her family looks like, she says,

‘’For I know this program is for a short period of time, I’m planning to open a small vegetable kiosk business outside my compound. ’I have been doing some savings from the amount of money that i have been receiving from the last two cycles and I will continue to save enough capital for the business I plan to start’’. She added.

‘’Thank you so much for helping us! It is my first time since i arrived in this camp that i have received such huge amount of money at once. I’m grateful for this assistance and i request you to extend the period for receiving the cash transfer until we stablize,’’She concluded.

When refugees are forced to flee their homes, they leave with the bare essentials. They also lose their ability to earn and spend in the process. Cash-Based Interventions (CBIs) seek to protect refugees by reducing the risks they face and maintaining their capacity to spend. CBIs can be used in a variety of settings, as long as there is a stable market and a safe way to provide vulnerable people with cash. The flexibility that CBIs offer makes them a more dignified form of assistance, giving them the ability to immediately prioritize and choose what they need.

Cash transfers make people in need less likely to resort to harmful coping strategies, such as survival sex, child labour, family separation or forced marriage. They also directly benefit the local economy and can contribute to peaceful co-existence with host communities.