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
55000 KES ($457 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
In the past two months, I have dedicated most of my time to running my business. Three days a week are market days and on the remaining days, I have been out in the village collecting groceries and other maize produce to take to the market. I don't have any new goals, but working hard to maintain the workability of my current business in finding a way to expand it further in the future.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
The support from GiveDirectly was timely and helpful to me. I used to depend on casual labor and leasing out my pieces of land in most cases since I could not afford to farm, but I am glad I was given the financial freedom by GiveDirectly that opened up opportunities that led to the start of my new business and also improved my farming. The free cash transfer was helpful due to its unconditionality and the fact that I am not expected to pay it back later.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
The past two months have been busy as I try to run and manage the small grocery and farm produce business I started with the second transfer. Just after receiving the money, I spent KES 30000 on obtaining a new stock that I have been working with and rolling over every time I exhaust the goods. I also spent the remaining amount on land preparation and all the required farm inputs I later planted. I paid the labor force that worked on the entire acre of land from the first tilling to the planting period. I am living alone at the moment and buying foodstuff and settling small household bills has not been a challenge.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($474 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was 6 am and I had just woken up. I was preparing myself to go to the farm when I thought of checking my phone. It was on silent mode. I saw that I had a new message and I decided to check it. I could not believe my eyes when I opened the SMS and I read that I had received KES 55000 that GiveDirectly had promised us. I was so happy that I changed my mind about going to the farm. I thanked God because I now knew that the plans that I had made were now going to be fulfilled.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference that the transfer has brought into my life is that I was able to start my own business and hence I have become self-employed. I no longer have to rely on others to casually employ me. I have thus managed to make more money than before which I have saved through the merry-go-round contributions of the self-help groups that I have joined. Thank you so much GiveDirectly for helping me.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 26000 of my recent transfer on buying two calves where each was going for KES 13000. I bought the calves because they can multiply in number and they were going to help me in the future. I then took KES 18000 that I used in starting my own business. I started a business of buying and selling groceries, that is, vegetables and potatoes. I decided to start that type of business because I had experience in it. I used to be casually employed as a broker to sell those farm produce and with time most of the customers encouraged me to start my own business. I was however not in a position to start the business since I didn't have the capital needed. I am thus grateful to GiveDirectly for making this possible for me. Other than that, I also paid off a debt of KES 4000 and I bought vegetable seeds at KES 1500 for planting. With the remaining transfer amount, I used it to buy new clothes for myself.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I did my Kenya Secondary School Examination in the year 2012 and managed to score a mean grade of C plan. I never went to college after failing to agree with my late father on the best course to take. Shortly afterward, he passed on. This was the beginning of my misery in life. I forgot about school and went for casual jobs to make ends meet. Since 2015 to date, I have been working broking grocery in different market centers. I have developed a passion for this business since it has made me who I am. I earn approximately KES 300 a day which is a good amount for me. I can eat, shelter, have clothes out of this amount. As time went by, I have wished to run this business alone since I have gained enough experience and created a good working environment with my customer. This has been an unrealized dream since I could not afford the capital. To be receiving this money means a dream come true. I am planning to use KES 50000 to start my own grocery business. I am certain this will boost my daily income. I will be enjoying the whole profits alone in addition to the better working environment. In addition to a stress-free life, I will be able to get married thus bringing up my own family out of the higher profits.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I am a youth and energetic enough to work to earn a living. I am flexible to adapt to any work to earn a living. In the last six months, my happiness has been being fully engaged in different grocery businesses. I have earned a living which has given me a chance to live independently and be happy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Lack of capital is the biggest challenge in my life. I love business and over time I have gained good experience to run a good business. We still live in a family piece of land thus, my hands are tied to do farming. If I had enough capital to run the vegetables and cereal business alone, my life would have greatly improved.
