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 ($441 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?
My new goal now is to save some money from my casual jobs that I do so that in the future I buy a piece of land. I have a small piece of land and this limits me from doing the farming that I have always wished to do.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
Giving money to the poor in the community to improve their standard of living is what GiveDirectly does well. Most of the people have built better houses while others have started income-generating businesses which could have taken quite some time to start. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 24,000 on purchasing a dairy cow. This has always been my wish since I used to buy milk daily and this has been so costly for me. currently, I do not worry much about where to get the money to buy milk. My family members get enough milk and I sell the surplus milk to earn an income to meet other household basic needs. I spent KES 20,000 on purchasing a heifer. This is to enable me to get enough milk and even make this my main source of income in the future. I will devote my time to dairy keeping project and improve it to the next level by getting the best breeds. The remaining amount of money I spent on food and household basic needs that we were lacking at that time. I am so grateful that GiveDirectly has improved our living standard.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($485 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was around 10 a.m when I received a message on my phone. Upon checking it was a confirmation message from Give directly bearing the good news of the transfer I had been anticipating. I was happy and had to withdraw the full amount the following day to commence on my plans.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the construction of a spacious house with iron sheets compared to the small grass-thatched which we use to squeeze in everything. In addition, am also thankful for the cow I purchased since we no longer spend money on buying milk daily.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I had been contemplating on constructing a new house since I didn't have a lump sum amount of money. With the first transfer I received, I bought iron sheets, timber, and nails at a cost of Kshs.30,000.The ongoing house construction of the house will serve me for the longest time and with the growth of my young family, it will be able to accommodate all of us. I also bought a cow worth Kshs.20,000 which we are currently milking two liters per day. Am so grateful because before we use to purchase milk daily at a high cost and it was not enough for my family members. With the remaining amount, we spent on buying food and clothes for my entire household.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means better, more comfortable housing for my family. Currently, we live in a small grass-thatched hut that can barely accommodate my growing family of three. This house serves as the kitchen, sitting room, and bedroom, most of the time it gets so smoky when we are cooking making it uncomfortable. I plan to use KES 30,000 to construct a bigger house that will be the bedrooms that will have extra room for visitors. For the rest of the amount, I plan to spend to purchase one dairy cow which will greatly reduce my daily expenditure as I will be selling milk as a way of earning income. This also means my family will eat healthily.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My wife conceived six months ago, she is due in 3 months. This will be our second-born child. As a father, I'm very happy that soon I will be a father of two. It is the joy of every parent when their family is growing as they wished.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Financial constraints are the biggest challenge. I'm a casual laborer and the sole provider for my family. The much I can in a day is KES 200 which goes to purchasing food for my family. These casual jobs are very unstable as we depend on rainy seasons when people can plant we can get casual weeding jobs. We live hand to mouth which has made it hard for us to save up for other family developments.
