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 ($471 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?
My new goal is to complete the construction of the cowshed I built using my second transfer. For this, I need eight more iron sheets to complete the roofing and some bags of cement to plaster the floor and thereby enhance hygiene. I also want to buy a grass-cutting machine. To fund this, I will be using the savings I will be getting in August from the school's merry-go-round.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
Give directly has done very well through the cash donation program. Its staff made sure that during the registration process, no one is asked for any bribe and when we qualified, they made sure that they fulfilled their promise of sending out the transfers to us. I have not seen any area where the organization has not done well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used the funds to settle the KES 18,000 school fee arrears my children had. I then bought a calf at KES 12000. To help with its rearing, I bought 18 iron sheets to build a cowshed. Once it matures, I will breed it. After it gives birth, I will have milk to sell which I believe will boost my earnings as a primary school teacher and that of my husband as a builder. Whatever amount remained I used to buy some clothes for my four children.
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 late in the evening say around 8:00pm when I received money from GiveDirectly. All along I had heard people from across the village celebrating having received theirs earlier in the day. I waited patiently for my turn until I surely received the money at around 8:00 pm that day. I called my wife who equally was very happy and we brainstormed on what we had agreed to spend the money on. The following day we went to the nearest mpesa agent withdrew the money and bought two heifers on that same day.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference is in the two dairy cows that we bough t. Although they are young heifers I expect that in the next six months one of them shall have calved already and we will be able to produce milk of our own. This shall greatly boost the living standards of our family by giving us extra income to meet other basic household needs.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We used KES 40000 to buy two freshian heifer cows. We had made a conscious decision with my husband to direct all the monies received towards dairy keeping. This was because for a long time we had tried maize farming but we were always making losses. The remaining amount of KES 15000 was used to make our Christmas memorable by buying our children clothes and food having received the money during a festive season.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money signifies a dramatic boost to my dairy farming project. Since I have acquired three heads of cows, I will purchase a chaff cutter using KES 40000. We have been using panga to manually chop fodder for our livestock; a practice that is less efficient and tedious. Also, we shall build a milking parlor and a feeds store using any remaining amount. Due to prolonged dryness and unpredictable rains in our area, we are planning to store lots of feeds. We have chosen to venture into dairy farming because it has proven to be a profitable practice in our area.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Recently we acquired a high-quality Friesian calf worth KES 55000. This resulted in the expansion of our herd to a total of three. Hence, we are approaching our dream goal of keeping at least five cows for the project to attract a relatively good profit.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Feeding our three dairy cows is a big challenge to us due to a continued inadequacy of feeds. Grasses do not do well in our area owing to unfavorable climatic conditions comprising prolonged dry spells. As such, we usually part with at least KES 300 daily to acquire feeds from local vendors. This strains us financially because I am pursuing a diploma course in education and my four children are also schooling.
