Site Visit: January and February 2017

Published: June 2017

In January and February 2017, GiveWell staff traveled to Kigali, Rwanda; Idjwi Island, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); and Nairobi, Kenya to visit top charity the END Fund and 2017 top charity contender Zusha!, a project of the Georgetown University Initiative on Innovation, Development and Evaluation (gui2de).

Table of Contents

END Fund

We recommend the END Fund for its work on programs that treat schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) ("deworming"). Our site visit focused on two of the deworming projects in the END Fund’s grant portfolio:

  • Support to the Rwandan Ministry of Health to implement biannual deworming of pre-school age (1-4) and school-age (5-15) children nationally
  • Support to DRC-based organization Amani Global Works (AGW) to implement community-based deworming on Idjwi, an island located in the eastern DRC with a population of ~220,000 people.1

GiveWell staff visited the END Fund’s work in Kigali, Rwanda on January 30, 2017 and Idwji, DRC from January 31 to February 2 (including travel). Our four-day visit included:

  • Conversations with representatives of the END Fund, the Rwandan Ministry of Health, and AGW.
  • Observing distribution of deworming treatments to the students of three schools on Idjwi Island.

Our site visit notes can be found here.

Zusha!

We met with gui2de staff in Nairobi, Kenya as part of our investigation of gui2de’s Zusha! program for a 2017 top charity recommendation. Our two day visit on February 2 and 3, 2017 included:

  • Meeting with gui2de staff that focus on Zusha!.
  • Meeting with Zusha! Kenya stakeholders: officers from Directline Assurance (a Nairobi-headquartered insurance provider), the Kenya National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), and the Kenya police, as well as individual drivers of the public service vehicles that Zusha! campaigns target.
  • Observing stickers being distributed at both Directline Assurance and NTSA vehicle inspection centers.
  • Observing a simulated lottery to select prize winners for the Zusha! campaign.

Our site visit notes can be found here.