“Reflections on the $5 Minimum Donation Barrier on the Giving What We Can Platform — A Student Perspective from a Lower-Income Country.” by Habeeb Abdul

<p> I wanted to share a small but important challenge I've encountered as a student engaging with Effective Altruism from a lower-income country (Nigeria), and invite thoughts or suggestions from the community.</p><p> Recently, I tried to make a one-time donation to one of the EA-aligned charities listed on the Giving What We Can platform. However, I discovered that I could not donate an amount less than $5.</p><p> <br> While this might seem like a minor limit for many, for someone like me — a student without a steady income or job, $5 is a significant amount.</p><p> To provide some context:<br> According to Numbeo, the average monthly income of a Nigerian worker is around $130–$150, and students often rely on even less — sometimes just $20–$50 per month for all expenses. For many students here, having $5 "lying around" isn't common at all; it could represent a week's worth of meals [...]</br></p></br></p> <p>---</p> <p><b>First published:</b><br/> April 28th, 2025 </p> <p><b>Source:</b><br/> <a href="https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/YoN3sKfkr5ruW47Cg/reflections-on-the-usd5-minimum-donation-barrier-on-the?utm_source=TYPE_III_AUDIO&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=Source+URL+in+episode+description&utm_campaign=ai_narration" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/YoN3sKfkr5ruW47Cg/reflections-on-the-usd5-minimum-donation-barrier-on-the</a> </p> <p>---</p> <p>Narrated by <a href="https://type3.audio/?utm_source=TYPE_III_AUDIO&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_content=Narrated+by+TYPE+III+AUDIO&utm_term=ea_forum&utm_campaign=ai_narration" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TYPE III AUDIO</a>.</p> <p>---</p><div style="max-width: 100%";><p><strong>Images from the article:</strong></p><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/YoN3sKfkr5ruW47Cg/lnwo8awapd4ushyexcox" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/YoN3sKfkr5ruW47Cg/lnwo8awapd4ushyexcox" alt="" style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><hr style="margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 24px;" /><a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/YoN3sKfkr5ruW47Cg/pyckt1ourocugtn3na42" target="_blank"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/cea/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/mirroredImages/YoN3sKfkr5ruW47Cg/pyckt1ourocugtn3na42" alt="" style="max-width: 100%;" /></a><p><em>Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try <a href="https://pocketcasts.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Pocket Casts</a>, or another podcast app.</em></p></div>