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 ($465 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?
As a family, we own a parcel of land that for years had been left bare hence livestock from the neighborhood always finds it easier to access it and destroy our crops. When the GD staff finally came to enroll me in the program, I first developed a goal of fencing the entire piece of land. This for years discouraged my family from maximizing the use of that plot. After achieving this goal, I came up with an idea to buy additional two cows. Previously. we had five cows although they were not producing sufficient milk for the needs of my household. Owning additional cows will be more beneficial to us in terms of increasing the quantity of milk we can obtain.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly staffs always do visit every household within the village it works. This is a good practice because it helps in minimizing cases of discrimination. As a result, there has not been any case of favoritism among the households that benefit from the program. There is nothing I have so far observed that GiveDirectly does not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Prior to being enrolled in GiveDircetly's program, I only had 5 cows though they could produce little quantity of milk. When I received my most recent transfer, I spent 50,000 KES on buying two additional cows. Owning many cows is not only a sign of wealth among my community members, but it is very beneficial in terms of getting more milk. As a result, I shall prioritize selling part of the milk produced in order to earn additional income. Through this, I shall be able to comfortably support my family.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($484 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I had just woken up to prepare breakfast for my family when I saw that I had an unread message. I decided to read it while wondering who would have sent me an SMS at night. My heart was filled with joy upon reading it and I started singing happily thanking God for blessings that we had received as a family. I made a delicious meal for my family as a way of celebrating that day and I was jovial and full of energy throughout the day despite engaging in tedious work
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The major change that I have experienced in my daily life is having to go anywhere without much of a worry about how my cattle would destroy crops. I would not go anywhere without requesting any of my relatives to help me in looking after them before receiving the transfer. I am glad that we were able to use part of my first transfer to fulfill our goal of fencing our land. Currently, I am happy since I get time to concentrate on my vegetable garden and I believe that I will not be buying most of the groceries very soon since I will be getting mine from the garden.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Crop farming is no longer profitable as it used to before due to unpredictable weather conditions, pests and diseases. Because of this, we always plant maize for subsistence use only while some people have resorted to dairy farming. This is because one can easily sell milk and use the money to purchase maize flour. I usually find it difficult to leave my house and go to any place since my livestock would destroy our crops and that of other people since we had not been able to fence our land. With the transfer, I was able to spend KES 30000 in fencing and invested KES 20000 in livestock by buying a heifer. I bought enough poles, nails, barbed wire and paid the full cost of labor. We spent the remaining KES 4000 on foodstuffs that lasted us for some time.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I live with my mother and 2 children and we are livestock keepers. My household depends on the income we get from selling milk. My homestead is not fenced and our cows trespass to our neighbours farm to graze and this has brought some conflict. When we receive this transfer my household plans on fencing our compound to avoid feuds with the neighbours and restrict our cows from grazing on unwanted territory. I plan on using KES 30,000 on buying two mesh wire rolls and timber poles for the fencing plus labour. The remaining amount will aid us in purchasing food and adding more livestock.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My elder sister has been suffering from a heart related disease that was diagnosed a few years ago. She is our first born and my mother was always in worry for her health. But within the last 6 she had an operation and was treated. She is still under some medication but for now as a family we are relieved of the health bills burden and we are thankful that she can now live a longer life.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Last year there was rain and that meant our cows had enough grass to graze. Because of that the milk production was high and in a day I would milk upto 15 liters of milk and sell at KES 30 a litre. But this year with the drought it has been tough and milk production has tremendously reduced. I only get milk produce of 7 litres per day and our income has reduced in half.
