If you’re interested in supporting our work with refugees, you can do so here. If you’re a long-term refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo now living in Uganda, what is your biggest priority? It’s possible you have a skill-set that you could use to start a business but lack the capital. You might need […]
Blog - Operations
Candid thoughts from staff, donors, and recipients on our work and the broader movement towards cash transfers.
Operations
GiveDirectly launches in the Democratic Republic of Congo
You may have read our recent announcement that operations are afoot in Liberia. We’re excited to announce that we’ll be expanding our program to a fifth country: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As with Liberia, we’re learning that for each new launch, some of our standard playbook carries over (e.g. Day 1: figure out […]
Operations
GiveDirectly launching in Liberia
In 2009, our co-founder & President Michael landed in Nairobi, connected with a local M-Pesa staffer, and transferred money to a handful of families in an internal displacement camp (he might still have the handwritten ledger he used to keep records). It goes without saying that our maiden voyage setting up a country office involved […]
Operations
Announcing cash for refugees
Images of refugees in boats make headlines and grip hearts, but we rarely think about what happens to them 1, 2, or even 10 years later. It turns out that refugees spend, on average, 10+ years in settlements or camps. The aid they receive helps them survive, but rarely do they get the chance to […]
Operations
Taking cash to new frontiers – What we learned (part 3/3)
In 2016-2017, we delivered cash transfers to one of the remotest and most operationally challenging locations we have ever worked in, reaching some of the poorest recipients we have ever met. In this series of posts, we look at why we did it, how we did it, and what we learned from the experience. At […]
Operations
Taking cash to new frontiers – How we reached remote recipients (part 2/3)
In 2016-2017, we delivered cash transfers to one of the remotest and most operationally challenging locations we have ever worked in, reaching some of the poorest recipients we have ever met. In this series of posts, we look at why we did it, how we did it, and what we learned from the experience. It’s […]
Operations
Taking cash to new frontiers – Why we worked in Uganda’s remote north (part 1/3)
In 2016-2017, we delivered cash transfers to one of the remotest and most operationally challenging locations we have ever worked in, reaching some of the poorest recipients we have ever met. In this series of posts, we look at why we did it, how we did it, and what we learned from the experience. In […]
Operations
Living with a basic income: aspirations (part 3/3)
Part 3 of a 3-part series on lessons we’ve drawn from observing the Universal Basic Income Pilot village over the past year. (Parts 1, 2) For an update on our UBI program please see our UBI study page. “Aspirations” are a hot topic among poverty researchers these days. Following suggestive evidence from studies like this […]
Operations
Living with a basic income: work (part 2/3)
Part 2 of a 3-part series on lessons we’ve drawn from observing the Universal Basic Income Pilot village over the past year. (Part 1) Perhaps the most controversial question about basic income is how it will affect the way people spend their time. Proponents think it will free them up to take more risk – […]
Operations
Living with a basic income: family relationships (part 1/3)
Part 1 of a 3-part series on lessons we’ve drawn from observing the Universal Basic Income Pilot village over the past year. Phoebe is one of the first 100 people in history to live in a community where everyone receives a guaranteed, long-term basic income. GiveDirectly’s basic income initiative launched in her village in October […]