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
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?
I am happy that I was able to accomplish all the plans that I had before receiving the transfer. I do not have any new goal since currently, I am focusing on my livestock farming which will assist me to generate more income after I added more cows.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
Givedirectly did well since they ensured that all people in my village got the transfer. Equality was key across all the households. I do not have any complaints.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Being a dairy farmer which is my main source of income, I opted to invest more in livestock. I bought a dairy cow at a cost of Ksh.37,000 which is currently providing us with more milk for consumption and I also sell to cater for other household bills. With the remaining amount of Ksh 16,000, I added an amount of Kshs.1,500 from my savings to purchase a heifer which is also an addition to my livestock which will grow and produce calves that will multiply. I am grateful to Givedirectly for the support which has greatly changed my household.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($484 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was in the morning at around 7:30 am. I was heading to the cow shed to milk the cow while my wife was busy preparing tea in the kitchen. As I was on my way, I decided to check my phone for any missed calls or new messages from last night. I was surprised to see that I had a new message which had gotten into my phone at 11 pm last night. I opened it and I could not believe my eyes when I saw that the SMS was the good news that we had been eagerly waiting for. I was so happy that I decided to go back home first to go inform my wife what had transpired. She was so glad to hear the wonderful news and we celebrated together for a while before embarking on our duties.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The transfer brought a big difference in our lives as a family since we were able to acquire a piece of land of our own. We have not yet fully paid the amount needed but at least we will now be having a place to settle as a family and also land for tilling. May God bless you GiveDirectly for the support that you have given us.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We spent the whole of our first transfer money on buying a piece of land. We bought three points. We were however not able to pay the whole amount that was needed, we still have a balance of KES 50000 to clear. We wanted to buy the piece of land because the one that we live in is not ours, it is a friend's. The land that we are suppose to inherit from our parents has not yet been subdivided among us and the process is going to take quite a while. So I had thought with my family that it is best to buy a piece of land of our own that we could settle in and till. We were not able to buy the land before because we didn't have the large sum of money needed to do so. We are dairy farmers and we usually sell milk to earn a living. The money that we get from the sales most of it usually goes to the payment of school fees for our two children who are in primary school. Thank you so much GiveDirectly because you enabled us to achieve our dream.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means I will own land. Currently am still under our grandfather's land, We are 5 men in the family, each member has a household and things are going from bad to worse. The land we are staying in is so small and every day the children play they a times fight resulting in bad quarrels between the brothers. I plan to use KES 100,000 to buy ⅜ piece of land. By doing that I will stay away from the rest and reduce fights and have peace in my life.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My cow calved down two months ago. From the sale of milk last month, I got KES 3500. I took all of it and bought a sack of maize since we were running out of maize for family consumption. For once it was a relief for me as for the next two months I will not worry about where I will get money to purchase the maize and ill get a chance to plan other things.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Food insecurity is the greatest challenge that we currently face. Rainfall patterns have changed and as things stand I cannot afford three meals a day. In the last 3 years, things have been bad to worse, I used to harvest 20 to 25 bags of maize in one acre of land I used to rent. Last year I rented the same plot and harvested 2 bags of maize, The little I harvested can not sustain my family not even to mention the input I used on the farm. Recently, I decided to do only casual jobs around the village for survival.
