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 ($528 USD)
access_time over 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 than it would have been if I never received the transfer in that I built a better house and bought a heifer which could not have been possible before.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly does well by giving out money to poor people in the village to improve their standard. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well because all the promises were fulfilled.
What did you spend your second transfer on?
I spend my second transfer on building a better and spacious house for the family, I also bought food for the family and the rest of the money I used to a heifer and added the stock to my business.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($542 USD)
access_time almost 5 years ago
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Describe the biggest difference in your daily life.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the fact that I have improved my poultry selling business. I was in bad debts with my business before I received this money but with the tranfers I have increased my profits from KES 500 to now KES 2000 per day on market days. I now can save some money from my business contrary to before when I could hardly have enough to feed the family.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
For a moment I did not believe that I had indeed received money from GiveDirectly. It was around 6:00 am in the morning when I received this message. I awoke my wife and shared the information with her and from then on we could hardly sleep. We received calls from our neighbors who had received the money as well and were equally happy.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I used part of my first transfer to build a new house and used the remaining amount to buy a cow. I also invested a smaller percentage in my poultry selling business. I had always wanted to build a new house in my new parcel of land but the little income that I got from my poultry keeping business was hardly enough to help us meet our family daily needs. I am now a proud owner of a brand new house and my poultry selling business has equally improved a great deal- I am now making an average of between KES 1500 to KES 2000 profit on a good day. This has allowed me to save some amount and feed my family well. Many thanks to GiveDirectly for the support they gave us.
Enrolled
access_time 5 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I live in our ancestral land and recently every child was given his share.I now have to shift my house and this will definitely come with expenses.I have to build another house(one bedroom and more spacious) and a kitchen.This will cost me approximately Ksh 35,000(350 USD).Next,I will buy a dairy cow(250 USD).This will boost my income since I have only one cow and sometimes when I am not selling milk I am forced to strain a lot in getting the basic needs.I am also a business man.I buy chicken from the village at a lower price then sell during market days at a profit.I will use part of the money to boost this business.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Getting money to buy food for the day makes me very happy.My cow assures me of that and therefore I enjoy the morning hours when I am feeding my cow.When it is satisfied it never fails me because I will get milk for sale and eventually food for the day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Getting a stable source of income has been the biggest challenge for me.I have tried out many things but all have not worked out as I wish.I have been a herdsman for sometime and I used to be paid very little Ksh 2500(25 USD) per month.The work was so involving and therefore I had limited time for my family and to make it worse the money wasn't enough to feed my family.I then tried to start a hotel business at a nearby shopping centre but it didn't work out too.I was making losses.These are a few examples of what I have tried to make ends meet.I now buy and sell chicken as a business and I have also had an equal share of challenges.For example the flactuating market prices.I am still determind and pressing on hoping things will be better some day.
