Good Will Hunters

Welcome to Episode 42 of Good Will Hunters, with Sandra Uwantege Hart. This episode is sponsored by SolarBuddy, the organisation bring solar lights to children living in energy poverty all over the world. The future is brighter with SolarBuddy! Sandra is the Pacific Cash and Livelihoods Lead for Oxfam, based in Vanuatu. One of my absolute favourite topics is humanitarian assistance, and particularly how we can deliver better humanitarian assistance in natural disasters. Sandra has been involved in multiple humanitarian responses in the Pacific Islands, including the response to the volcanic eruption on Ambae, Vanuatu, In this episode, we chat about how Oxfam turned humanitarian response upside down, by conducting a cash feasibility study. Basically, they asked the question “Why not give cash in a humanitarian emergency?” and found that many parts of Vanuatu, including Ambae, were suitable for cash-handouts during a disaster. Fortuitously, the volcanic eruption on Ambae occurred just weeks after the cash