Remittances flowing from our East African neighbor, Uganda, have shot up like a rocket, reaching unprecedented heights! The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) just released some mind-blowing figures from our immediate neighbor.

So, here’s the scoop: Last May, we received a whopping $8.8 million (that’s a cool Kes1.2 billion) from our friends across the border. Now, hold on to your hats because that’s three times the amount we got in May of the previous year! Talk about a massive surge! It seems like our friends in Uganda are sending us some serious love.

On another front, Our buddies in Saudi Arabia are also joining the party. They’ve become the second-largest source of remittances for Kenya, pumping in a cool $35 million (around Kes4.8 billion). That’s a 30 percent growth compared to before.

Overall, the CBK’s latest data reveals that in May we received a whopping $352.1 million (that’s Kes49.22 billion) in remittances. That’s an increase of about 3.5 percent from the same time last year.

Now, let’s break it down further. While some of our traditional markets like America and Australia saw a decline in their remittance game, we’re still holding strong. Even though remittances from the USA dipped by three percent, we managed to rake in $189.2 million from our American pals. And as for Australia, well, they faced a more aggressive decline of almost 45 percent, with remittances dwindling to $5.9 million.

Our hardworking Kenyans living abroad have had their fair share of challenges lately. With the developed world facing tough times, it’s no surprise that some of our folks are struggling to support their families back home. High costs of transfer, pesky exchange rates, and limits on mobile transfers are just a few hurdles they face.

The good news is that the CBK believes things will turn around. With regulators pausing rate hikes and job prospects on the upswing, they’re confident that remittances will bounce back. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best!

Kenyans living abroad are contributing a mind-blowing $4.027 billion to our beloved country every single year. That’s right, folks—our brothers and sisters out there are making a significant impact. They’ve become one of our top sources of foreign currency, which is pretty darn cool if you ask me.