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 ($485 USD)
access_time 3 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 than how it would have been if I never received the transfers in that I have paid school fees for my son who was joining form one. I paid for one academic year in full. I am so happy because this will enable my son to study well without being sent home to collect the school fees. I will also have time to save some money to pay for the following academic year. I depend on small scale farming and sometimes I sell maize at the market. This small business earn me KES 200 profits per day. Due to recurrent needs at home I rarely save some money. We have started merry go round group that we save some money on monthly basis. I will ensure that I save some money monthly to enable me pay the school fees. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has enabled me to educate my son and given me hope to ensure that my son complete his studies.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion GiveDirectly does well by giving money to the poor in the community to build better houses. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 30,000 of the money I received from GiveDirectly on paying school fees for my son who was joining form one this year. I paid for one academic year. This will give me a chance to continue saving some amount to pay for the following academic year. I also spent KES 10,000 on bedding and furniture. The rest of the money I bought food and clothes for my children.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($509 USD)
access_time over 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
Knowing that I was going soon receiving the transfer was great news to me. I kept reminding everyone in the household that things were soon going to change as I had great plans. On receiving it, I was so happy and this came as a confirmation of the expectations I had. Everyone was overjoyed and efforts to entrust the money into the planned projects came from all sides as everything had been budgeted for earlier.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
After using a Kerosene lamp for a long time which could emit a lot of fumes, I am so glad that we are finally using clean energy. Lighting from the solar panels I bought look good in our new house marking the biggest difference in my daily life. My children can study well under a white light giving them a great feeling and a sense of adequacy in their study facilities at home as they are no longer straining in the with the old rusty lamp which was emitting a lot of heat and also smokes.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Living in a single house that has been both a living room, kitchen, and also a bedroom for the whole family has really been hard for us. I have been working hard in the past years to raise some money to construct a more decent and spacious house with at least more than a room but has never been possible. On receiving the transfer, I decided to obtain construction materials worth 25000KES and later put up a new structure roofed with 18 iron sheets. I also managed to install solar panel lighting pieces of equipment, a battery, a stereo system, and also a new piece of furniture. I used the remaining amount on purchasing a goat that is now part of the livestock I keep.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I greatly thank God for His wonderful plans. Upon receipt of this transfer, the worry of taking our firstborn son to secondary school shall be no more. In brief, we shall use the money on paying fees and meeting related costs since our son is joining secondary school in the next three months. We have been having sleepless nights because we have not saved any money for educating him. Gains from our subsistence farming are hardly enough to meet our basic needs, rendering education too expensive for us.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I am a housewife with relatively many tedious household chores and some farming tasks. Since I find it my responsibility to do so, the happiest part of my day is in the evening after completing such duties. I always strive not to let down my family by diligently handling my roles to earn respect and more value.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Hunger act as the biggest hardship we have been facing as a family. We usually harvest only one sack of maize from our 0.5-acre farm since the maize lethal necrosis disease and regular droughts have been common. As a family of six members, such an amount lasts for approximately one month. Maize meal is our staple food, hence running out of the commodity exposes us to an unfavorable diet. Unfortunately, we have been experiencing such poor harvests for about a decade now, something that has made us struggle to survive even by foregoing some meals in a day.
