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 ($440 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 daily purchase of milk for my family of six has been so expensive that we sometimes go for an entire week without buying. After spending the entire transfer on the goals we had, I am glad that the outcome is impressive and motivating. At the moment, I have a new goal to build my savings gradually towards buying a dairy cow. Apart from the farming projects I have, I have been working hard on the casual labor that has always come in handy while buying foodstuff for my children. Even though the project may take longer, I hope it will finally come to fruition.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly support in form of cash transfers brought a lot of changes in our village that would have taken us another 5 years to achieve. I am glad that the money is not refundable, and every household made the spending decisions after receiving the money. I am grateful and satisfied after receiving the entire transfer, as they promised during enrollment.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 13100 of my second transfer on the completion of the construction of a new house I had started with the first transfer. After buying the windows and doors, I also cleared the labor charges that fixed all the remaining parts of the house. My son is currently in the university and he needed quite a large sum of money for his exams and upkeep when I received the second transfer. Out of the transfer, send him KES 20000 for his tuition fees and later KES 5000 for his upkeep. After ensuring that he settled in school, I spent the remaining amount on buying foodstuff and other household items for my family of six.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($470 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 almost 7 am and I was at home having breakfast with my family when suddenly I heard my phone ringing notifying me that I had a new message. I stopped to check it and wow! I could not believe my eyes when I opened the SMS and I read that I had received KES 55000 from Segovia Technology. I was so happy on seeing this since I had never received such a huge sum of money before. I immediately told the rest of my family members the good news and they were so happy too. We celebrated together giving thanks to God for everything.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The transfer has brought a big difference in our daily lives as a family. This is because having managed to pay school fees for our children, we have had some peace of mind and we have been able to think about what we are going to do next. I have thought of starting a business of buying and selling firewood to make a living for my family. We also managed to buy enough food that is going to sustain us for a while. We are hence happy and stress-free and there is more peace in the household than before.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We spent KES 15000 of our recent transfer on completing the construction of our house that we had left pending for a while. We bought iron sheets at a total cost of KES 10000 and we paid for labor with KES 5000. We were not able to complete the construction because we didn't have the money and we still had many children in school. We have hence been struggling with the payment of their school fees and buying food. We also spent KES 16000 on paying school fees arrears for our daughter who recently completed her secondary school studies. We also bought the necessary school items for our other child who was joining a secondary school where we spent KES 10000 doing so. Getting money for paying school fees and buying food has not been easy for us since we do not have stable sources of income. My husband is casually employed as a security guard and the money that he usually gets paid is not much. We have joined small self-help groups that usually have merry-go-round contributions. The money that we usually get from the merry-go-round contributions when it is our turn to receive it is what usually helps us in paying school fees for the children. With the remaining transfer amount, we spent it on buying clothes and food for our consumption. Thank you so much GiveDirectly.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money relates to an improved living standard. We have a single house that acts as a kitchen and as a living room. The smoke that emanates from it while cooking is unbearable and it is a health hazard for the family. Our ambition is to build a separate house to act as the main house and continue using the current one like the kitchen. To realize this, we intend to spend KES 60,000 to build a better one and live a fulfilled life. I feel rejuvenated that soon we will lead a better life as a family.
What is the happiest part of your day?
In the last 4 months, my husband managed to get a part-time job as a motorcycle taxi rider and that brought joy to our life. He was able to earn an average income of KES 500 a day. As a result, we managed to reduce the school arrears of our daughter who is in secondary level from KES 54,000 to KES 6,500.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Food insecurity is the main challenge we are currently facing. Having a family of 5 who entirely relies on income from casual labor is tough. I am a housewife and my husband is a casual laborer earning an estimated wage of KES 200 a day. The job itself is unreliable because he occasionally gets one. Additionally, we have 0.1 acres of land under cultivation and the yields from it are unsustainable due to the inadequacy of rainfall and the land is small. I feel sad that we have to spend more on food yet we have a land that has become futile.