How distance and technology affected philanthropy in Kenya: A review of the journey of Harambee

Abstract

This paper studies how a form of African philanthropy practiced in Kenya known as ‘Harambee’, which loosely translates to “pulling together, " has changed over the four commonly distinctive periods (epochs) in the country’s history. It argues that increasing physical and psychological distance between giver and receiver occasioned mainly by internal and international migration has changed the approach to Harambee. In addition, the analyses establishes the interplay between distance and technology affects, what, how, and why people give. The study finds that technological advancements moderate the effects of physical and psychological distance and review the mode and scope of giving, while migrations combined with technology create a ‘new sense of communities’, thus expanding the meaning of psychosocial distance.