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
53010 KES ($384 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I have been a casual laborer for so many years, with low earnings of $2 on a good day. This is only enough to purchase maize flour; I have never had the opportunity to save any coin. Furthermore, the job has been so tedious. Therefore, in the coming year, I would like to open a grocery business that I will operate within my neighboring town. This will enable me to take care of my family without strain, like before.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
I must mention that GiveDirectly is a unique organization, especially in terms of the idea of giving out unconditional cash transfers. I have now been able to feed myself daily through this support and am empowered enough to send my children to school. Therefore, in my opinion, everything went well, and there is no need to review their mode of operation.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
My spouse passed away sixteen years ago and left me five children. It has never been easy at all for me to take care of the children solely since I never went to school; hence, I do not have the skills to get a well-paying job. Therefore, paying fees for my three children in secondary school and two in primary school has been a struggle. Most of the time, I wasn't unable to pay on time, which led them to be sent home consistently. It pained me the most to see them out of class while their colleagues were in school. Therefore, I spent around $340 on my second transfer to clear the arrears and managed to send them back to school. I believe that once they graduate, they will become responsible individuals in the future. I have never wished for any of them to undergo any hardships at all. Additionally, I was able to buy new mattresses. The current one is old, and I am no longer comfortable; sometimes I wake up with lots of pain in my ribs. I am also planning to build a new house because the original one can no longer fit us all. Also, I need the proper safety of my family, especially with the heavy downpour that has been ongoing; the house might collapse. Finally, I bought enough food, which took us a month.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($443 USD)
access_time almost 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I felt so much happy the moment I received money from GiveDirectly. I was at home with my child at the time that I received money and it was around 3:00 pm. I shared the great news with my children who were with me at around that time. I felt very happy knowing and imagining how I was finally going to be able to build a better house and have access to clean drinking water. This is something that I had always thought of but which I could not do because of the little income that I got from the odd casual jobs that I engage in.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
I have gained some unexplained sense of peace within me ever since I received the transfer from GiveDirectly. It has always been my dream to have piped water in my compound and to also have my own house. All these are almost becoming a reality courtesy of GiveDirectly transfers. This to me is the greatest difference in my daily life and I am so grateful to GiveDirectly for making it a reality.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
When I received my first transfer of $550, I withdrew $210 from my Mpesa and used the money to connect piped water to my home. This money was useful in buying pipes and digging a trench that w used to channel the water to my compound. I am so happy that I now have clean drinking water in my compound unlike before when I was forced to go borrowing or buying from neighbours. It was hard for me and my children to buy water from neighbours who already had piped water in their compounds and sometimes we would be denied to even buy the water. I am already assembling more building materials that will help me build a better house for us as a family. I have since saved all the remaining amount of $340 in preparation for this. We are three wives each with more than five children yet we stay in one house. This makes it so uncomfortable for us and it is for this reason that I am really looking forward to putting up my own house.
Enrolled
access_time 2 years ago
What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?
My husband had four wives; one is already departed and three are still there. I was the last of them meaning he died before educating my children and now the burden is passed to me. Since the family is already fighting over sharing the little wealth that is available, I feel I should distance myself and create my own. I therefore plan to take a piece of family land and build a home fo me and my children family. I want to spend the grant to construct a three roomed house and an external kitchen which should cost roughly $1500. I know it might not be enough, but I will source some more money from sacco loans to fund it.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I still have five children in school which means most of my money is spent on school fees. As a return on my investment, I feel really happy and motivated whenever they attain high academic performance. In the month of May this year, one of my sons really did me proud when he scored credit in his mid year examination. This is because I really want them to achieve more and be independent so that they do not have to scramble for the little wealth that their late father left which is already causing rifts in the family. Given that it's a big polygamous family.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I have a such a big family of nine members; five children and three grandchildren. Out of the five children, one is a daughter who was married but separated with her husband and now she's here with her three children. Feeding them is a big problem mainly because I do not have a big income that can pay school fees for the rest of my children and still buy food regularly. I work as a cook in a nearby high school earning $75 monthly, and additional $25 from shared revenues collected from particular rental units that our husband left for his three wives. Again because of the big number of people in my house, we use 120 litres of water daily and this costs a total of $3.
