The UN's Freerice program: Philanthropy and Fun: Exclusive Interview with Project Manager Livia Hengel
by Siena Versaci
Freerice is a website and mobile application that allows players to donate rice to families in need by playing a multiple-choice quiz game. The program is run by the United Nations and focuses on helping people across the world in poverty to get help with food and necessities. Associated with the World Food Program, Freerice provides an fun and motivational way to show your support, and allows both children and adults give back, gain experience, and learn at the same time. Helping people with everyday needs, like hunger, can be simple with Free Rice. Furthermore, by using Freerice, kids and adults can both work against world poverty and build their own academic prowess at the same time!
Freerice is an online game, in which users answer simple questions in academic topics like vocabulary, science, math, history, Geography, art and language. Whenever they get a question right, money is put towards the world food program and its many wonderful causes. In the game, the money earned is represented by grains of rice. Until recently, the actual money came from revenue from online advertising displayed to the user while playing freerice, but thanks to many generous benefactors, the proceeds now come from private donations. To unlock these donations so they can be put to good use, kids and adults all over the world are playing Freerice! And teachers all over the world have an educational activity to provide to their students during free time in class that will also help kids and families in need.
What can you do to help? Well, there are a few easy and fun ways to participate. Need an activity? Some of your free time could be used to play freerice. As another idea, ask friends and family to donate five to ten minutes of their time per week to play Freerice. Also, tell your teacher about free rice so they can assign it to their students when they have extra time in class. You might also be inclined to start a “group” in the game in which you and your friends can work together to raise rice. On your birthday, you may ask your friends to take ten minutes out of their day to partake in the game. The national day celebrating the “World Food Program” falls on October 16th, so participate in this holiday by doing some good by playing Freerice. In addition to building minds and helping others, Freerice is a fun game. And you can pick whichever academic topic you are best at, from math to art.
Q&A
Recently, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to interview Livia Hengel, the Freerice Project Manager at the World Food Program. She provided some great insights into the program that I can share with you.
Q: “How has Covid-19 affected the revenue gained from playing the game considering the way the app is structured?”
A:“Thanks to generous donations from private sponsors, we have been able to remove commercial advertising in Freerice and guarantee an improved experience for all our players. By playing the game, you are “unlocking” the donation and each question you answer correctly generates the cash equivalent of 10 grains of rice to WFP. The pandemic generated interest in using Freerice as a virtual volunteering opportunity for schools and workplaces as it is a way for people to come together to do good online. 100% of all funds generated on Freerice go to the World Food Programme. Freerice does not earn or keep any money it raises.”
Q: “The game is called “Free Rice,” but I read that the revenue is also used for other things in addition to rice. What else is the revenue used for?”
A: “In Freerice, rice is a metaphor. Every question you answer correctly triggers a financial payment to WFP to support its work saving and changing lives around the world. In the game, these payments are represented by grains of rice so by playing Freerice, you are generating the money that pays for this rice. This money goes into the pot of "greatest needs" to support WFP's ongoing emergencies.”
Q: “If a child wants to get more involved in the Free Rice program, how can he or she?”
A: “50% of our users are under age 16 so we love our youngest players! You can tell your friends and teachers about Free Rice so the game can be used during free time at school, or to assist with learning languages, practicing math skills, learning about science and more. You can also create a “group” in the game and invite your friends to play and help you raise rice together. On your birthday, you can ask friends to donate 10 minutes of their time to play the game and do good, or you can mark holidays like World Food Day on Oct 16th by helping to raise rice for people in need.”
Thank you to all who made it to the end of this article. It means a lot to me and the amazing people at Freerice. I want to thank my teacher who showed me this application and furthermore made this article posible. Also a big thank you to Jennifer Serunjogi who connected me to Liva Hengle who has additionally been a huge help in making this article attainable. I am very glad to have this opportunity and hope that you all will join me in this special cause!
