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 ($435 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?
What I am striving to accomplish in the next year, is to find a location where I can set up my business in town, and with the new larger space, I can now focus on making clothes for both men and women. Working from home, I'm limited by space and location( since not all clients will find it convenient to come to my house for fittings etc.), hence a shop will work nicely, plus give me walk in business as well.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
The only thing I feel GiveDirectly can do better is increasing the number of transfers that recipients get. A few more transfers from GiveDirectly, would allow me, and other recipient's, to fully plan and invest towards making sure we are financially stable and have revenue streams coming in that will keep us out of the red moving forward.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I immediately proceeded to remodel my house with the funds from GiveDirectly. There were a few pressing items that needed addressing,though I had been short of money. GiveDirectly bridged that gap and made it possible for me to plaster my walls, install windows and doors, as well as have a gate installed for added security. The house looks rather dapper now, I must say! My husband and I currently don't have kids, but not to say that we didn't need these funds,greatly, to make ends meet. I do tailoring at home, making women's clothes and earning KES. 2,000 a month, while my husband works for KPLC at Mariakani and stay in Kaloleni, only making it back to see me twice a week. Needless to stress, we needed every dime we could get to accomplish our goals and GiveDirectly were the blessing we needed to help us do so. We are forever in their debt.
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?
It was around 7 pm when I was in the kitchen preparing an evening meal when I received a message in my phone. Since I had my phone at the cooking area, I took the initiative of checking what the message was all about. I was amazed to see a huge amount of money only to realize that it had been sent from GiveDirectly. I was filled with happiness to an extent of jumping up and down due to happiness. I even stopped cooking for a while so that I could cool down and compose myself well.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my life since I received the first transfer is that, initially, accessing water was a big problem that has been affecting us. Finally, I am grateful for the transfer that I received from GiveDirectly because through it I resolved the water problem. I also managed to restore my broken fridges which I had lost hope of repairing them due to lack of money. All these are as a result of GiveDirectly and if it were not for the organization coming for me, I would be still lying at the initial ground I was.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
For quite a long time, we have been having problems in sourcing water. The water points are a distance and during a dry season like this, we do not access fresh water at all instead we drink water from wells and ponds. I have desired to get a water tank to store water for my family since water is life. Upon withdrawing the money, I first took KES 19000.00 and purchased a 3000 liters capacity water tank. This water tank once full of water will not only aid us as a family during the dry season but also act as a source of income because I will have to sell some of the water. Thereafter, I bought 100 blocks to construct a base-stand for the tank, I also bought some gutters for water collection from the roof once it rains. I also renovated my house by doing plastering for KES 4400.00 and did some repairs to my broken-down fridges for KES 12300.00
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I was married here two years ago and have been living in this village ever since. I have seen heartbreaking situations of dire lack of water supply that normally push people to a level of consuming unsafe water fetched from water pans. It's so sad that most of the time such seasons are followed by outbreak of different diseases like cholera and the rest of them. I would not wish to get myself into this and therefore receiving this money means breakthrough as I will create water reservoir that would take me through all dry seasons if possible. I plan to spend 40000 KES on a three thousand litres tank that would serve me at the moment given that I'm still childless and only living with my husband. I will then spend the rest of the money to buy a powerful sewing machine to replace the small one I'm currently using that keeps breaking down every now and then. This way it interferes a lot with my tailoring job to an extent that I can't work continuously to be able to make profit.
What is the happiest part of your day?
There hasn't been much to be happy about since my wedding two years ago. And again we spent a lot of money putting that event together that it left us completely broke. I haven't been able to pick up my projects since. I have a sewing machine that I have been using in my tailoring job but it's not fully functional as it breaks down a lot. I also have my worries about availability of water in this area and needs to acquire water tanks to be safe. I was always worried how I will get to solve those until GiveDirectly came along. When I heard of this project, I really felt so happy because it's just like a dream come true to me! For sure it's great to have this kind of grants that one can use to improve their lives and grow their business. I'm genuinely grateful for this.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
It's been really sad how I have been struggling a lot with low income from my business and also lack of water most of the time. I am a tailor currently working from home. I made that decision after realizing that renting a premise wasn't adding anything on my clientele list. Here in the village we strictly serve the same customers every time and so it makes the same difference to operate from home. This keeps one's earning the same without clear possibility of improving or growing. On the the water side, my mother-in-law bought tanks for us and so we should be having water, but the water company always let us down. They really pump water occasionally; like a couple of weeks a part.
