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 ($467 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Our new goal is to buy another cow. We had bought a cow with the first transfer. We would like to add another because we have seen the benefits of a cow. We did not have a cow before and we used to buy milk. The cow that we bought has calved and we hence now have milk for our consumption and we are selling some. The money that we are getting from the sales is helping us with the payment of school fees for our two children, buying food, and other household necessities such as sugar, salt, etc. Buying another cow will enable us to get more milk for sale.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly did well by offering their support to us in the form of money and allowing us to choose for ourselves how to spend it. This is good because one gets to use them according to their needs. I do not see anything wrong with their way of work.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We spent the second transfer on building another house. We used to live in only one grass-thatched house. We had always wished to build another that is roofed with iron sheets but we did not have the money. My husband usually does casual jobs of fencing other people's farms while for me I usually practice small-scale farming. The little money that we get usually goes to the purchase of food for our family of four. Maize does not usually do well in our area because it usually gets affected by some disease and the area is usually dry most of the time. We are grateful to GiveDirectly because we now have another house that is roofed with iron sheets just like that of our neighbors. We also can collect clean rainwater for our household use.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($493 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was around 9.30a.m and I was tilling my land in preparation for planting season little did I know that I had a message in phone .Upon checking it was a MPESA a confirmation of the cash transfer.I was super excited and I immediately went to withdraw the money since I had already planned on how to spend it.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that l now have a cow which I never new I could own one day.I am greatful that Givedirectly came with such an idea that has changed my family and we are filled with happiness.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
For the longest time I had been buying milk and I used to spend a lot of money buying milk everyday which was not even sufficient for my entire family.I spent Kshs.35,000 on buying a dairy cow which now gives us surplus milk for use and even for sale.With the remaining amount I had a lot to do in my household-School fees, uniform for my two children at Kshs.10,000 and spent the remaining amount on buying food and sheep which I can later sale.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
This money could not have come at a better time like this ,it will really uplift my family a great deal. We have always long to own another dairy cow to sustain our livelihood. The one we have can hardly provide for us throughout the year,like now it is almost weaning and therefore we will be left with no choice other than to buy which is expensive. We intend to use approximately KES 35000 to purchase it. The surplus milk will be sold to earn disposable income. As for the rest of the money we will use to furnish our house ,that is to buy modern furnitures and fittings.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My typical day is to tend for my farm mostly in the morning hours and looking after our cows in the afternoon.My happiest part of the day in my schedule is in the morning. It's always so shifting looking up to a new day full of hope and aspirations.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The most challenging issue here is food security. The meagre money we get goes towards purchasing of food. Our area is semi arid and food production is low. This has left us struggling with the vicious cycle of inadequacy and self insufficiency.
