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 ($492 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life is different than how it would have been if I never received the transfers in that I have purchased Building materials
Ready to build my dream house. I had always wished to live in a brinks house. I do small scale farming and the harvest that we get is only for consumption. I didn't had an extra income to buy the building material. I teach in a nearby school, the salary that I get is only for other basic household needs and school fees for our children. I was in a position to purchase the building materials. When I received the second transfer we decided with my spouse to build a better house. I am so happy because I have all the materials needed yet to start building the new house.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion GiveDirectly does well by giving money to the poor in the community to build better houses and to buy dairy cows. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spend all the second transfer I received from GiveDirectly to purchase the Building materials. I had always wished to build a brinks house. I bought sand, cement and bricks. I am still saving some money labor. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has given me this chance of getting my dream house.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($501 USD)
access_time over 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was around 2 pm and I was in school in the staffroom. I heard a message alert on my phone and I decided to check it. I could not believe my eyes when I saw that it was the M-Pesa SMS saying that we had received the lump sum of 55000/= from GiveDirectly as promised. I became very happy that I found myself having told my fellow teachers of the good news. They were so happy for me. I then texted my husband and informed him of the wonderful news. He called me back and he was so excited having learned about it. We gave thanks to God because we knew our plans were now going to be fulfilled.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
This money has brought a big difference in my life and that of my family. We have been able to complete the construction of the house that we have been struggling for a long time to complete. Having completed it, we hence no longer have stress on where to get money to do the above. We can therefore divert the money that we will hence be getting on other important things such as buying land. The food that we bought with part of the transfer will enable us to have something to eat for a while. We will therefore not be having any worries about food shortage for quite some time. Our children are also happy after we bought them new clothes.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
This transfer from GiveDirectly has helped us a lot. We used part of it in completing the construction of the house that we have been living in it. We had built the house but we were not able to complete constructing it due to a lack of enough money. We hence decided to start living in it that way because the issue of paying rent had become hectic and costly for us. We have however been building the house slowly whenever we get a little money. What was however remaining in the construction was painting it and placing plywoods on the walls of the house. The transfer has also helped us to buy some food, we were able to buy two bags of maize, a bag of rice and some beans. We also bought some clothes for ourselves and our children.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am so passionate about poultry keeping and this is something that has been with me for the longest time now. I love it because it does not require a lot of space and it easy to manage to a point that even a disabled person like myself can do. Chicken is also a good source of protein for my growing children. To start it off, I want to invest heavily in the structure and I plan to spend 30000 shillings on the same. I also plan to buy 50 chicken each costing 500 shillings. Poultry feeds is also important and I will spend 20000 shillings on this. This is enough to get my business up and running. Receiving this money will mean so much to me as it will enable me to gain financial independence.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I find happiness in my evenings because this is the time I relax and rest and there is no moving up and down anymore. This is also the time I am home with the rest of the family and having a meal together is a feeling worth dying for.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
When I was five years old, I fall from a tree and my spinal cord was severely affected. I have lived with disability since then and this has greatly hindered me from exploring my potential to the fullest. Moving from one point to the next is a challenge and I take so much time to cover a short distance. This has forced me to hire people to run even my simplest errands. This makes me feel lesser of a person and sometimes I hate myself for being in the state that I am. What makes the situation worse is when people try to imitate my walking style. I feel bad about it and I always ask God why did He let me into this situation.
