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 ($517 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?
Comparing my life currently with how it would have been without the transfers, I can attest to the great differences which we've registered. I managed to come out of the hospital after clearing the whole bill.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GD did a great job, the great projects which are currently existing weren't existing before, many bought cows while others built houses which have really changed the image of the village.
Even though we managed to do that much, we still have a feeling that GiveDirectly may come back again so that we may finish up with what we started and even start other new projects.
What did you spend your second transfer on?
Upon receiving the transfer from GiveDirectly, we made a decision as a household to spend part of it on buying foodstuff, Clothing for our children, we also paid school fees for our two sons - one in secondary school and the other one in primary school and finally used the remaining amount of settling the hospital bill since the money came when I was admitted for one week.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($542 USD)
access_time almost 5 years ago
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Describe the biggest difference in your daily life.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I am now a proud owner of a dairy cow. When it reproduces, I will not only save the money I would otherwise use in buying milk but also earn an income through milk sales. I will be using this income to pay school fees for my children and also invest it in other income-generating activities. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for enabling me to achieve this as it would not have been possible on my own.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was still early in the morning when I received a message alert on my phone. Since I was awake, I decided to read its contents and know who the sender was. I became so happy as I read through the message for the second time. Everyone in my family was equally happy as we had never received such an amount before as an aid.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I spent KES 25000 from my first transfer to buy a dairy cow. Buying milk has been my routine and my family at times are forced to take tea without milk whenever I do not have money to use in buying milk. Acquiring this cow will enable me to reduce my daily expenditure when it reproduces. Also, I will be able to earn an income through milk sales. Also, I spent some amount to buy 24 pieces of iron sheets, timber, nails and also paid a mason the full cost of constructing a spacious house for my family. I settled on this since our current house is small and cannot accommodate all my family members comfortably. I spent the remaining amount on food and other household expenses.
Enrolled
access_time 5 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I will finally fulfill my wish of building a more spacious and comfortable house that will cost me 300USD upon receiving this money. The one roomed mud grass-thatched house we currently live in as a family of six has limited space, hence forcing my three teenage children to spend their nights at their grandmother's place since culture has it that grown up children should sleep in a separate house from parents. The roof of my hut also leaks in water during rainy seasons hence exposing my children to pneumonia and other cold related diseases. 250 USD will enable me to buy a dairy heifer cow that will reproduce after around one year hence we will be able to sell milk from it and the cost of buying milk for family consumption will come to an end. The remaining part of my transfer will ease the struggle of paying next year's school fees for my two children in secondary school who are required to pay 170 USD each throughout the year.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I solely depend on small scale farming to earn a living. I plant tomatoes, beans, maize and vegetables which fetches me some income whenever i sell them after good harvests. I am always happy spending most of my day in my farm since i know my family depends on my hard work in the farm for survival.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Drought, pest and diseases has hindered our progress in this family. Small scale farming is no longer dependable financially unlike in the past. We practice small scale farming for survival in this family and the crops we grow are tomatoes, beans and maize. However, low yields due to unreliable rainfall has made our toiling in the farm go in vain hence fulfilling the needs of the family has been so tasking. We have ended up raising school fees through fundraising as well as selling all the cattle we owned so as to raise school fees for our children. The cow that used to produce milk for sale and some for family consumption died 5 months ago due to some viral disease that was expensive for us to cure. We now have to buy milk for family consumption since we do not have our own cow.
