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.
Learn more about how recipients opt in to share their stories.
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2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($476 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?
At the moment I don't have any new plans. This is because I want to concentrate on finishing the house before embarking on new plans. I am so happy for the support that uplifted my living standards.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly has empowered us financially. We have every reason to be happy and grateful for the support that changed our living standards amazingly. In my opinion, I feel that in the future GiveDirectly should consider enrolling everyone above the age of 18 years so long as they live within the village.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a mother of six children and a consistent farmer. School fees have been the most challenging thing in our lives. This is because I have children who are still schooling. I depend on farming to earn an income, though it's no longer productive due to harsh climatic conditions. Upon receiving my second transfer I saw it as a golden opportunity for me to construct a decent house for my family because the house that we were living in before was old and small. I was unable to construct one due to financial constraints. Thus I used a sum of KES 55000 in realising the most important goal in my life. I am so relieved and happy that I now have a decent place to call home.
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?
It was around 11pm while asleep when I heard an SMS notification on my phone. On checking, it was KES 55000 and I and my husband were very excited because we knew our dreams of building a better house had come true.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is happiness because through the transfers my kids school fees are cleared and my daughter has graduated. Initially, I relied on maize and beans farming in order to pay school fees. I am also grateful because I have started buying building materials in order to build a more spacious modern house because the one I have is too tiny to even accommodate visitors and my kids are all grownups.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES20000 on payment of school fees for my kids in high school and KES 6000 on payment of my daughter's graduation gown. I also spent KES 15000 on 22 Ironsheets in preparation of building a modern house and KES 10,000 was spent on celebrating the Christmas Eve.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
My husband and I have been fortunate to have 6 children of our own, of them are now adults and live on their own but the remaining 4 live with us in our one bedroom house. They are forced to sleep in our grass thatched kitchen because there is no room for them in the main house. I plan on using my transfer in building a 3 bedroom house that can accommodate all of us and the estimated cost is around KES 30,000. The cost includes labour and cement because I already have timber and poles for the foundation.
What is the happiest part of your day?
We are currently experiencing drought and there is no grass for our cows to graze on. I was afraid the two cows I have would die and wanted to sell them but I refrained from that decision. Luckily the two cows gave birth and I'm able to get 4 litres of milk daily unlike before. I'm now selling the milk to a nearby milk cooler and I get KES 150 daily which I now use to buy food for my family.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My household depends on my husband's income for sustainability yet he is not fully employed. He is a professional animal health practitioner who does freelance work. He has to go out daily to look for clients and per day he gets paid around KES 500. The daily income is insufficient to sustain our needs which include food and education. Four of my children are in school, 2 in secondary while the remaining 2 are in primary. There school fees has given us stressful nights but we hope that we will be able to pay for their fees and provide quality education to them.
