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 ($439 USD)
access_time almost 2 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
In the coming year and beyond, I hope to purchase one dairy cow like others in the village. This will ensure a consistent supply of milk for my family. Similarly, I will sell the extra liters of milk to earn an income. I will use the income to pay for school fees for my four children. At the moment, we are purchasing a liter of milk every day for $0.5 from our neighbors.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly did an excellent job of assisting low-income households in society. Through direct cash transfers, a lot of development has occurred in our area. Conducting community training and informing us when we should expect the cash has helped in making the right decision. In addition, the unconditional nature of the transfer gives us the flexibility to change our plans based on our priorities. I feel there is nothing they should change about the processes.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I have desired to have food security for the family. Due to the climate change that has resulted in unpredictable rain patterns, providing for the basic needs of my family of six, like food, is a challenge for me. After receiving my recent transfer, I invested $200 in crop farming by leasing an acre of land where I grow maize for family use. Currently, I am glad to have harvested nine bags of maize, which are enough to feed the family for a year. In addition, I spent $200 on school fees for my four children, all of whom attend private school. I am relieved that they are no longer missing classes, as they were previously. Lastly, I used the remaining amount to construct a separate kitchen for the family. Earlier, we were preparing food in our small house, which also served as a bedroom, sitting room, and kitchen at the same time.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($468 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The money came on a school day and I was still in school ready to leave after a hard day's work. We were actually having a chat with some of my friends teachers that day when I heard my phone ring. Upon checking, I found out that I had recently a sum of KES 55000 from GiveDirectly. For a moment, I could not believe my eyes! I had to excuse myself from the company that I was in just to confirm and get it into my head that I had actually received the money. This was surprising because it came at a time that I was actually very broke and with a lot of unmet needs. I later called my wife and shared the good news with her where she was equally very impressed about this. I also sent her some money there and then so that she could be able to solve some of the issues we had.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
I got so much relieved having been pressed with financial challenges in recent times. I had taken all the loans I could take and was facing a very challenging time with even my bills. With the fee paid for way over a year for all my children and with the construction of a new house, I will have cut down some costs such as the cost of fuel and this will make the cost of living to reduce by a great extent. This to me is the biggest difference in my daily life since I started receiving money from GiveDirectly.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used KES 10000 to buy timber that would help me build a new kitchen. We used another KES 25000 to pay school fees for our children who are in various schools. The remaining amount of money was used to improve our farming practices in an effort to make my family more food sufficient. We were so much in need of money to pay school fees since schools had just opened and I personally did not have any money at that moment that would help me pay the school fees at least not from my salary. I hoped against hope that I would receive the money somehow and be able to pay and so it happened. As for the kitchen, it was to help reduce the cost of living by giving us an alternative of using firewood to cook food rather than gas and jikos. I feel so much happy and lucky to have been part of the beneficiaries of this program.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means better education for my children because I would like to use the transfers to connect the house to the national electricity grid and drill a water well in my compound so that we can easily get water for household use. The absence of electricity in my household has been restricting evening studies for my children while in the neighborhood the other children study up until 9 p.m. I could see from their latest scores in tests and assignments that they are not performing well and lack of extended studies in the evening has been a contributing factor. This worries me but I am glad also that once I drill a water well for them they'll have ample time in the afternoon after school to relax because at the moment they usually have to walk to a nearby spring a distance of 2 kilometers to fetch water for their use.
What is the happiest part of your day?
In January this year, I applied to invigilate the just concluded national exams and amongst the 10 of my colleagues whom we applied together I was the only one selected. This gave me a lot of happiness because I joined a platform in my career that I have wanted for so long.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I am so passionate about education but I am sad that I cannot provide the best for my children to excel in their studies. I need the best conditions for my children to perform better in school because this will guarantee a better future for them. I hope to overcome this challenge and provide them the best conditions to study at home.
