By Giff Johnson
For Variety
MAJURO — The Marshall Islands launched a world-first universal basic income program this week that is providing a quarterly payment to every citizen in this western Pacific nation.
The new program is called “Enra Jen Lale Rara” — or “Enra” for short — a Marshallese phrase that roughly translates as “sharing plates (‘Enra’) to care for those around us.”
The new universal basic income or UBI program has been two years in the making and is funded from a Marshall Islands trust fund capitalized by the U.S. government through the Compact of Free Association treaty between the two nations.
The Enra program was launched officially on Nov. 26 with the issuance of the first quarterly payment of $201.92 to every Marshallese citizen living in the Marshall Islands. A ceremony held that day featured President Hilda Heine and U.S. Ambassador to the Marshall Islands Laura Stone hailing the Enra as an initiative that is placing benefits of the Compact relationship directly in people’s hands.
While UBI programs have been provided for certain groups of people in many countries, the Marshall Islands is reportedly the first to issue payments to every citizen in the nation.
“MISSA was able to enroll up to 33,119 UBI recipients…as of 9/30/2025,” said Bryan Edejer, the administration of the Marshall Islands Social Security Administration that is managing the new program. A combination of direct deposits to recipients’ accounts at Bank of Marshall Islands, Bank of Guam and Pacific Regional Bank and checks for pickup were issued starting Nov. 27.
The bulk of the checks for this first quarterly payment were distributed at the national gymnasium in Majuro starting Thursday this week and ongoing Friday. It is likely that check distribution will continue this weekend and into next week.
“Today we celebrate the birth of Enra, a program designed so that every Marshallese can share in its benefits,” said President Heine at the UBI launch on Nov. 26. “Distributions will take place every quarter.”
The President noted that each quarterly payment will amount to approximately $6.6 million — about $26.4 million for fiscal year 2026.
“We are hopeful that as long as the Trust Fund of the Marshallese people remains strong, this program will continue,” said President Heine. “Under the current Compact, we look forward to Enra serving our people for the next 20 years.”
U.S. Ambassador Stone spoke at the launch event, commenting: “It is such an honor to join you today for this milestone moment — the launch of the Enra program, a powerful new expression of the Marshallese value of ensuring that no one is left without support, and no one is left behind.
“Enra reflects a tradition of sharing so that every person has enough — so that the wellbeing of one strengthens the wellbeing of all,” Stone said. “This program…takes a timeless Marshallese practice and extends it into a modern social system that reaches every island, every household, and every citizen living in the Marshall Islands. Tradition and innovation coming together in a bold experiment noticed around the world.”
The goal of the U.S. and the Marshall Islands when negotiating the current funding arrangement was to ensure it delivered “tangible benefits to all Marshallese people,” said Stone. Enra “directs resources that originated with the U.S. taxpayers straight to families, elders, workers, and students of the Marshall Islands. It increases the spending power of communities. And it affirms that the prosperity made possible through the Compact must be felt by the people themselves — not just in institutions, but in everyday life.”
A key advocate for this program who helped shepherd Enra from an idea to the first payment is Finance Minister David Paul. “Enra is a big deal that will help a lot of Marshallese,” he said.
Paul and MISSA Administrator Edejer were on hand to present three checks to three randomly selected individuals representing children to retirees at the Nov. 26 launch ceremony. Checks for $201.92 were presented to retiree Bonjo Ned, a young woman named Momiko Kelwan and an elementary age boy Stan Akilang while the large audience at the launch ceremony clapped.
The day following the official launch ceremony, the Social Security Administration set up multiple tables in the national gymnasium to distribute checks, while also submitting to the local banks thousands of direct deposit instructions.
While the first Enra distribution was the focus of most people in the Marshall Islands in November, another US Compact-funded program is also starting now. Called the Extraordinary Needs Distribution or END, it will inject $20 million into the local economy this fiscal year for local governments to use for food distributions, housing renovations, power subsidies, development projects and other forms of assistance to communities on remote outer islands.
Enra and END combined are providing an infusion new money of over $11 million each quarter — $46.4 million for the year — into the local economy.
