No, it's not just "describing charity to poor communities". It's about efficiently jump-starting them. Sure, ~$1 per day is very little. But in Kenya, it's enough to start small businesses. And with no need assessment or repayment management, the overhead is very low. Also, I suspect that at least some successful recipients would willingly become donors, making the system somewhat self-supporting.

Average incomes in the US are much greater, for sure. But there are places in the US where average income is just as small, relative to the national average. And what will happen when trucking is fully automated? What would prevent parts of the US from becoming as impoverished as this area in Kenya?

Edit: typo