Remembering the Ebola Crisis in Sierra Leone: A Story of Resilience

Riccardo Tamburini

When Ebola swept through Sierra Leone, it left behind more than just loss: it tested the strength of an entire nation. We look back at the crisis, the courage of survivors, and how a community rose from tragedy to rebuild, resist stigma, and reclaim hope.

How to Reduce Income Inequality?

Matthew Roberts

Direct cash transfers can be an effective tool for reducing income inequality because they provide financial support to those who are struggling to make ends meet.

What is Poverty?

Riccardo Tamburini

Poverty is a major global issue that affects billions of people around the world. It is defined as the lack of access to basic necessities such as food, shelter, and clean water. Poverty also refers to a lack of access to education, healthcare, and other essential services.

Fighting Global Poverty with the Help of Everyday People

Social Income

Social Income lets everyone participate in the fight against global poverty by contributing 1% of their income, which is paid out directly to the phones of people in need. Their approach builds on a reliable, preexisting direct cash donation system, which has proven to be both effective and scalable. The only requirement is a cell phone capable of mobile banking, which makes Sierra Leone—a fast-growing mobile money market—a perfect location.

A Will and a Way to End Poverty

Social Income

The Swiss nonprofit Social Income asks, “What would change if you gave away 1% of your income every month? Not much, right?” It is based on these questions and a strong belief in universal basic income (UBI) that Sandino Scheidegger founded the organization, which works toward alleviating global poverty through direct cash transfers to the impoverished citizens of Sierra Leone. Social Income is taking advantage of the burgeoning use of mobile banking platforms in Africa and is alleviating poverty by facilitating “human to human” assistance.