We check in with people at each stage of the cash transfer process to see how things are going. Take a look at some of their stories as they appear here in real-time.
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2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($518 USD)
access_time over 4 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My children's education has always been my priority. Being a single mother without a stable source of income, it had always been a problem for me to raise money to use in paying school fees and my son had been so devastated and demoralized. However, my life is currently different because I cleared his school fees and he was allowed back to school. Due to this, he is always in a jovial mood since he knows that he will never be sent back home again.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly did well by coming to help us and lift us from the poverty we were in and I do not see anything that they did not do well.
What did you spend your second transfer on?
I paid school fees for the whole year for my son using some amount from my second transfer. I settled on this since I wanted him to concentrate on his studies like other students. Also, I spent some amount to buy some iron sheets. I will use them to build a decent house for my children so that they can be sleeping at home. On the remaining amount, I did some household shopping for my family on buying foodstuffs and other basic needs and paid for other household expenses.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($532 USD)
access_time 5 years ago
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Describe the biggest difference in your daily life.
My happiness as a parent is to have a happy and healthy family thus I work hard to make sure that we access basic needs. I majorly rely on subsistence farming to meet our needs. With the changes in climate conditions and limited resources in our family, my farming has never done well enough to sustain our needs. My children's education, daily household needs among other expenses in our family are overwhelming to be settled by our subsistence farming returns. It had always been challenging raising my family with these limited resources. The biggest difference in my daily life is that I am now a happy parent. This is contributed by the fact that my family always has enough food. I was able to buy enough maize flour that will last us till the next harvest season. I am happy that my family is out of the risk of food shortage that had been our major problem and I am now relaxed working on other family needs.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I was around 5 am after waking up when I realized that GiveDirectly had made me rich that morning. I was immediately filled with happiness and I whispered a prayer to thank God for leading to GD to our village. I knew that I would be able to achieve a lot of things using this money.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
When I received my first transfer, I spent part of it to clear school fees arrears for my children to had been sent back home. I am now glad since they were able to sit for their end year examinations and they will be going to their next grade next year. Also, I bought a heifer as a way of investing this money. When it reproduces, I will get enough milk for our consumption and to sell some to earn an income. I also built a chicken coop and bought three chicken using part of this money. I used the remaining amount to buy some basic needs for my family. I bought some decent clothes, maize flour, and other foodstuffs.
Enrolled
access_time over 5 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money will enable me to buy one dairy cow which will boost the income i earn in my small business of selling groceries since i will be selling milk on a daily basis. I also plan to buy some goats and sheep using the remaining part of my transfer as part of my savings plan, such that after the livestock multiply, i will be in a position to sell them to pay school fees for my two children who are currently in secondary school.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I usually spend my typical day in the market buying and selling groceries, a business that earns me a living yet sometimes i end up making no profits at the end of the day. Evening is the happiest part of my day whenever i manage to get enough money to buy food to carry home for my children.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Being a single mother of five, it has been an uphill task fulfilling the needs of my family. The business i engage in is selling groceries in the market, and the profit i get daily has never been sufficient enough to cater for all the needs of my family since i struggle to get money for buying food and paying school fees for my three children, two in secondary school and one yet to join college. Financial instability is therefore the biggest hardship i face.