Sibongani Kayola is Country Director of GiveDirectly Liberia, and someone deeply interested in the interaction between psychosocial factors and financial behavior. GiveDirectly is a nonprofit that lets donors like you send money directly to the world’s poorest households. Globally, GiveDirectly delivered $165M+ to over 534K households in 8 countries across 25 different programs in 2021. Sibongani joined the GiveDirectly Liberia program in 2018 and had a goal to deliver cash to ~12,000 people in 2 years. Fast forward to 2021 they enrolled and paid over 100,000 Liberians in a single year!  As country director she provides strategic leadership for GiveDirectly’s in-country operations. She is responsible for managing a US$ 70M portfolio (2022-2025), leading in-country fundraising and resource mobilization and managing relationships with entities such as the Liberia Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, USAID and the World Bank. And today, Sibongani shares her learnings of giving money directly in Liberia and how we can end poverty in our lifetime by direct giving, an efficient, proven, and empowering way to help.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

• What are the drivers of global poverty
• The step by step journey from donating your cash to someone receiving it
• The effectiveness of giving cash directly for lifting someone out of poverty
• Key considerations when looking for a meaningful career solving global issues
• How an everyday person can make change to solve big issues
• and much more...

Full show notes, transcripts, and resources can be found here: evolvethe.world/episodes/77

The Evolve podcast is produced by Plato University.

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) - Introduction

(01:54) - What are the drivers of global poverty?

(06:05) - How does US poverty compare to global poverty?

(07:02) - The State of Liberia in 2018 making poverty worse

(10:32) - How much someone in Liberia lives on in a day

(12:40) - The first steps to giving cash directly to people in Liberia

(13:51) - What happens when they refuse to take the cash?

(16:51) - The step by step journey from donating your cash to someone receiving it

(18:50) - How country governments respond to GiveDirectly

(21:33) - How communities change when money is given directly to citizens

(24:15) - GiveDirectly's effectiveness compared to goods or service nonprofits

(26:17) - Long-term research and considerations of giving cash directly

(28:40) - Can crypto help end poverty?

(31:04) - How to provide financial literacy to receivers of cash

(34:08) - How Sibongani went from working in mental health to poverty

(37:23) - Key considerations when looking for a meaningful career solving global issues

(41:58) - Challenges to growing the GiveDirectly Liberia program

(46:15) - How an everyday person can make change to solve big issues

(49:16) - How we can push the world to Evolve

Robbie Bent is Co-founder of Othership,  a physical location and an on-demand Breathwork platform featuring the world's best facilitators in the space. Years ago, breathwork, plant medicine, and hot/cold therapy helped Robbie turn away from a lifetime of alienation and addiction. Now, his mission is to create a community and safe space for people to feel belonging, connection, and emotional resilience without the social crutch of alcohol or drugs. His brand, Othership, includes physical and online opportunities to dial into the breath, self-regulate our emotions, and connect with one another. How backyard ice baths sparked a community that’s redefining well-being. Prior to Othership, he led ecosystem development at Ethereum and was multiple time founder. Today, Robbie is going share how backyard ice baths sparked a community that’s redefining well-being and how we can tap into the power of the human nervous system to shift our state for better mental health. 

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

• Why Robbie lived 8 days in a cave
• How our modern life is effecting our mental health
• How breathwork can foster emotional fitness, mental health, and friendship
• How Othership went from a backyard to growing startup
• How Robbie went from a failed startup and drug addiction to helping hundreds of people with mental health
• and much more...

Full show notes, transcripts, and resources can be found here: evolvethe.world/episodes/76

The Evolve podcast is produced by Plato University.

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) - Introduction

(02:16) - Why Robbie lived 8 days in a cave

(04:28) - How the cave experience changed his perception

(12:39) - How our modern life is effecting our mental health

(16:49) - How breath is connected to wellbeing

(20:18) - How breathwork can foster emotional fitness, mental health, and friendship

(27:37) - Using music to make wellness practices fun

(30:19) - How Othership went from a backyard to growing startup

(37:49) - How Robbie went from a failed startup and drug addiction to helping hundreds of people with mental health

(43:36) - The first steps to getting out of depression

(47:39) - What success and enough means for Robbie

(51:44) - How Robbie is using a retreat to prepare for fatherhood

(53:17) - The difficulties of keeping a wellness routine

(55:42) - How to get started with breathwork and hot/cold therapy for wellbeing

(58:59) - How we can push the world to Evolve

Want the top 3 lessons and premium, detailed deep-dive show notes for this episode for FREE? Subscribe at evolvepodcast.substack.com

Brandon Stover it the founder of Plato University, an alternative, online university that turns your passions into purpose by helping you master skills and launch a career solving global challenges. As a podcaster, he hosts the Evolve podcast. From climate change to education to mental health, he mines the wisdom of visionaries and experts for the tools and tactics to solve these global issues. He is also the founder of the Social Good Media Network, a media group united around the goal of helping listeners understand the global challenges we face and how we can work together to solve them. Before these ventures, I spent half a decade of experience as a designer, marketer, and educator. 

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE

• How to listen to others and TRULY understand them
• How I am changing the higher education paradigm
• And the dark challenges I faced that led me to finding my purpose
• and much more...

Full show notes, transcripts, and resources can be found here: evolvethe.world/episodes/75

The Evolve podcast is produced by Plato University and is a member of the  Social Good Media Network

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) - Introduction

(06:36) - How to navigate difficult conversations

(09:01) - How to calm the voice of judgement in your mind

(11:00) - How to connect and recognize other's emotions

(12:33) - How podcasting made me a better listener

(16:20) - How podcasting skills transfer to other areas of life

(20:28) - Podcasting as a container for deeper conversations

(24:09) - Chasing the golden ticket and reaching depression

(28:24) - How I started the path to finding purpose

(32:35) - Does fear play into my decisions

(37:42) - How students start finding their purpose at Plato University

(40:30) - How did Plato University start

(45:03) - How millennials and gen z are demanding purpose in their life

(53:40) - What does Plato University look like at scale?

(57:53) - How do employers look at education?

(52:04) - What does a degree signal in Higher Education?

(1:05:29) - What does compassion mean?