Side by side portraits of two women. The one on the left wears glasses and has her hair tied back. The one on the right has loose hair. Both have open faces and smile gently. — Miriam Laker Oketta, left, and Esnatt Gondwe Matekesa

I’m proud to revisit an episode from 2022, in which two country directors of the charity Give Directly told me how cash transfers in Rwanda and Malawi make a real difference to the lives of poor people there. The reason is Give Directly’s Pods Fight Poverty campaign, which aims to raise $1,000,000 for families in Rwanda. They’re more than 10% of the way there, and I hope this podcast can add to the total.

The reason I made the episode in the first place was to ask whether cash enables people to improve their food security and nutrition. As I heard, it does, which is why I am happy to be part of the campaign.

Notes

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Miriam Laker Oketta and Esnatt Gondwe Matekesa both stressed how evidence guides Give Directly’s activities. The website’s section for research on cash transfers provides summaries.
The specific study Miriam Laker-Oketta referred to is Benchmarking a WASH and Nutrition Program to Cash in Rwanda.
Here is the transcript.
There’s a lot of economics literature on the problems of gift giving. Tim Harford offered some guidance.

Huffduff it

Cash remains a most effective gift