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Assignment: Kenya's free money experiment

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Kenya's Free Money Experiment

04/05/2023 GMT

Kenya's free money experiment

BBC World Service - Assignment, Kenya's free money experiment

Why thousands of Kenyan villagers are being given free cash

Thousands of Kenyan villagers are being given free cash as part of a huge trial being run by an American non-profit, GiveDirectly.
Why? Some aid organisations believe that simply giving people money is one of the most effective ways to tackle extreme poverty and boost development. After all, they argue, local people themselves know best how to use the funds to improve their lives.  But does it work? Is it really a long term solution? In 2018, the BBC visited a Kenyan village whose residents received money at the start of the trial. Five years on, the BBC’s Mary Harper returns to see what has changed.

Reporter: Mary Harper
Producer: Alex Last
Studio manager: Graham Puddifoot
Series editor: Penny Murphy
Production co-ordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross
With special thanks to Fred Ooko

(Photo: Woman frying fish in village in western Kenya)

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