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 ($439 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?
The new goal that I have now is to purchase a daily cow. I always buy milk daily from my neighbors and this is so costly for me. I will save the small income from my business of grocery that I do to buy a dairy cow in the future. I will cut the daily cost and spend the money on other basic household needs.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
People invested their transfer in various projects, Some were able to purchase dairy cows while others invested in building decent and spacious houses. Since the money was unconditional everyone spent it differently. The majority of the people spent it well. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent $500 on purchasing a piece of land. This has always been my dream since we lived on a small piece of land and we were limited with the activities that we were doing. I am so happy because this has given me a chance to start horticultural farming, I have already tilted the farm yet to start farming. I will plant maize, beans and vegetables among the other three months' crops. I will be able to get enough food for the family and cut the daily cost of buying. I had always wished to own a bigger land but this was not possible because I did not have the money. I rely on small business groceries. This earns me a small income to meet the daily basic needs of the family and pay school fees for my daughter in high school. I had no extra money to save because of the daily recurring needs of the family. The remaining amount of money I spent on household basic needs that we were missing.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($471 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was 7:30 am and I was at the farm weeding when suddenly I heard my phone ringing notifying me of a new message. I wondered what the SMS was all about and hence I decided to check it. I was surprised when I read that I had received KES 55000 from GiveDirectly. I was so happy that I left whatever I was doing and I jumped up with joy. My child who was with me at the farm wondered what was going on and hence he asked me. I told him that we had received the transfer that GiveDirectly had promised us and he was so happy too on hearing this. We celebrated together and we gave thanks to God for the blessing.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference that the transfer has brought into our lives is that we no longer incur the cost of buying milk daily like before. This is because we managed to buy a cow of our own with part of the money. I am also glad that I was able to buy more utensils for use in my household because the ones that I had, had become few and old.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We spent KES 35000 of our recent transfer on buying a cow. We decided to buy the cow because we had suffered for quite some time buying milk every day since we didn't have our source of milk. Sometimes I don't get the milk and my child is forced to go to school without taking tea. It has always been my wish to buy a cow but I was not in a position to buy one because I didn't have the money. I have a small grocery business and most of the money that I make usually goes to the payment of school fees for my child and buying food, that is, maize and milk. I then spent KES 10000 on paying school fees for the next academic term and the arrears for my son who is in his final year of study in secondary school. With the remaining transfer amount, I spent it on buying clothes for my son and for myself and food for our consumption. I also bought some utensils with it. I am thus so much grateful to GiveDirectly for their support.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am a single mother of three who struggles to see my family meets their needs. I run a small grocery business at the nearest center earning approximately KES 150. I am happy that this job has made my life easier. I can provide for my daily household needs more so I have educated my children through it. It is now 12 years since I build a single-room grass-thatched house. I have enjoyed the peace and company of my children here thus making me a happy mother. I have always wished that I would build another one since its condition has been worsening year in year out. I regularly change the grass to avoid leakages, while walls cracks expand downwards making it uncomfortable to live in. This cash means a decent, spacious iron-roofed house in my family. This is a great achievement given that I would not soon build it with my income of KES150 a day. I will always have the pleasure to invite everyone to my home and also enjoys the comfort of my new decent house.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I have done all the hard jobs ranging from casual jobs to farming trying to make ends. To me, life has not been easy ever since I got separated from my husband. In the last six months, my joy has been my grocery business. Even though my earnings of KES 150, I am happy that this has enabled me to meet my family's needs. Out of this business we never slept with empty stomachs.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Financial instability is my major challenge. I was not lucky to go beyond the primary school level of education. Securing a good job with my level of education has not been easy. I have tried, casual jobs and farming to makes ends meet but all in vain. Currently, I operate a small grocery business taking home an average of KES 150 a day. With my children's education, daily household and other family basic needs, this amount is too small to cater for all these
