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 ($525 USD)
access_time 4 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life is different from how it would have been had I never received the transfer because I am now a proud owner of an extra cow. I believe that it will be calving very soon and my milk production will increase hence I will get more income that I will in turn use in paying school fees for my children. Also, I have been able to build a house for my children. Due to this, they always have a place to sleep in comfortably and do their revision without any disturbances.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly did well by transforming the lives of everyone in our village and I do not see anything that they did not do well.
What did you spend your second transfer on?
When I received my second transfer, I spent some amount to build a spacious house for my family. I decided on this so that my children would have a place to sleep comfortably. Also, I bought a solar and battery for lighting purposes in my household. Due to this, my children nowadays do their revision in the evening without any problems. I spent the remaining amount to pay school fees for mg children and to but them some food.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($529 USD)
access_time over 4 years ago
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Describe the biggest difference in your daily life.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have built a better house for my family. We used to live in small mud house before which could not host all my family members comfortably. I have grown up children and its a taboo in our culture to sleep in one house with them. I always feared to welcome visitors to my house because I did not have a decent house and no space for them. Whenever I had an emergency I would prefer to pitch a tent outside the house for the meetings. My children used to walk during the night to spend a night at their grandmother's house and this was so risky for them in terms of security. Sometimes they could fail to complete their school assignments because of the movement during the night after taking their supper. Their performance in school was going down because of that. Currently, I have a decent house and my children have their own decent room to sleep and do their assignment on time and this has led to performance improvement at school because they no longer miss studying while at home. I no longer fear to welcome visitors to my home because I have enough space to host them. I am so grateful for the support from GiveDirectly that has changed our living standards a great deal.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I felt so happy the moment I received my money from GiveDirectly. I remember it was very early in the morning when I was checking my phone as usual. I could not believe my eyes because I had never received such an amount of money before. I shared the information with my family and they were equally very happy when they learned that we had received some money from GiveDirectly. We then got down to planning in the best way we could spend the money with my spouse.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I used part of my transfer to build a better and more spacious house. The house that we were living in before was too small and mud made one. It was quite uncomfortable staying in this house and I often felt very embarrassed whenever I had visitors in my home. I also used part of my transfer to fence my compound and bring an end to the invasion in my compound from animals and other unwanted visitors that often disturbed our peace. The remaining amount of money was used to buy a heifer, food and clothes for my family.
Enrolled
access_time almost 5 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I currently own one dairy cow, whose milk has financed my child's education. Now that GiveDirectly has come to our aid my plan is to spend part of the first transfer to purchase another dairy cow and a few sheep. Such assets will act as security for my family's welfare and upkeep. On a rainy day I would sell a sheep or two to meet a necessity and future uncertainties to keep my family above water. I would further spend the remaining amount to build a new house for me and my children.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I think waking up healthy everyday is so underated. When I wake up in the morning and in good health, I have the right mindset to plan for my day's activities. This makes me happy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I lost both parents at a young age. Being the first born in a family of seven children I had to shoulder the burden of bringing up my siblings for a very long time. I could do odd jobs in the village especially cultivating people's farms to put food on the table and accord them a schooling opportunity. This was so huge a sacrifice that I neglected my own family. I dropped out of school so I hardly have any skills for a source of income. This is the biggest hardship I've faced in my life.
