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
55000 KES ($457 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?
My new goal is to start a posho mill business in our area since we are forced to walk a long distance for our maize to be ground into maize flour. With this business, I will have a reliable source of income to support the family's needs like food and education for the children.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, offering training before enrolling individuals in the community is what Givedirectly did well. I do not see anything that it did not do well and wish it to continue with the good work of helping the poor.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I invested KES 25,000 of my transfer in agricultural farming. I hired a tractor to plough my farm, purchase maize and peas seeds for growing, and hired laborers to assist me in planting and weeding our 3-acre farm. Currently, we are happy that I have sufficient food harvest for the family hence reducing the burden of purchasing food. Also, expanded my kitchen and food store for the proper storage of firm produce. With the remaining amount, I spent it to support the education of my 6 children who are still schooling
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($477 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
That morning, I was was getting ready for my daily hustle after taking breakfast. As I was bidding my wife goodbye, a message popped on my phone and opened it, " I have received my first transfer" I told my wife as I jumped up due to joy.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
My wife can now cook from outside in the semi permanent kitchen that I build this evading the danger of house fire. I was never at peace all that time we were cooking from the main house but now my mind is at peace.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
No one enjoys sleeping on the floor, neither myself and my family ( wife and seven children) but poverty has never given us a chance to enjoy our nights. Being a painter in a rural setting where majority of people build maddy houses, getting a job is not easy and most are the days when I go for hundreds of kilometers for me to get a job. With meager wages of KES 500 and given that the jobs are not frequent,( sometimes I can go for a week without job) it has not been easy to pay bills. With high standards of living, the little that get is usually enough to cater for the most basic needs such as food and water and therefore, I couldn't afford to provide my family with good bedding, clothes and pay school fee. My children accumulated fees arrears of KES 17000 and they had already been send home and weren't allowed back without clearing the bill. I spend KES 17000 to offset the fees arrears, KES 14000 to buy three mattresses, and KES 8000 to build a semi permanent kitchen. I also spend the balance to buy food, clothes and other basic necessities. Even though I haven't bought beds yet, it's evident that my kid's enjoy their sleep because they nolonger wake up so early as they used to. I'm happy that they would finally be allowed back to school when schools reopens and they can enjoy their studies as other kids. I wouldn't imagine how my life would have been in the next few years if it wasn't for the transfers. I'm really grateful.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I foresee better education for my children when I receive the transfers. I do casual jobs that entail plastering houses using mad and cement here in the village, these jobs cannot be relied on. The daily earning is four hundred Kenya shillings which is insufficient to buy food and extend it to education. Therefore I intend to use sixty thousand Kenya shillings to clear school fees, ten thousand Kenya shillings to build a temporary kitchen because my wife experience a hard time when cooking during the rains since the kitchen roof is leaking, and the balance to invest in farming as we know the rainy season is around the corner.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My wife got a job last week. She has been jobless for a long and her wish was to get employed so that she can help me to raise our kids. This gave me joy because I am sure by collaborating our efforts my children will not go to bed on an empty stomach.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The lack of a reliable source of income has been a challenge to my household. I depend on casual jobs which are unpredictable to feed and educate six children. As we speak I have been at home for two weeks because where I used to work the job ended. My daughter who is in secondary school was sent home last week to collect fees. The only hope is my wife who works in ko maza Organization which earns two hundred Kenya shillings in the day. This amount is not enough to purchase food and at the same time to take my child back to school. This situation saddens me hopefully it will end soon.
