GiveDirectly: Send money directly to the extreme poor

2nd Payment

Transfer Amount

53010 KES ($384 USD)

over 1 year ago

How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?

My current objective is to start a fishmongering business. Since there are just a few individuals in my sector, there is less rivalry, which is why I picked it. Since producing and selling charcoal has become unstable owing to the lack of trees in our region, the goal of this business is to generate revenue. I would like to have started a business by the end of the year 2023. I will not be required to work as hard as I do today to pay for my family's necessities thanks to this business.

In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?

Everyone in the community is amazing, particularly in light of the work that GiveDirectly accomplishes. Never before have there been such openness and transparency. We would typically be offered assistance as long as just a few persons were considered. The cherry on top was sending money to our Mpesa accounts instantly and without any spending restrictions as promised. Our hamlet has seen a significant transformation as a result of people having more financial freedom. I like the organization and have no complaints about it.

What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?

I decided to spend $200 from the second transfer to finish building the house that I had begun with the first. Right now, I am satisfied to reflect on it and pleased that I finished it. I chose to spend $70 for a mattress because I did not have one and was previously sleeping on torn-up pieces of mats. Since then, GiveDirectly has helped me sleep well and securely, and I am grateful for that. Due to the requirement that there be no unpaid school fees before the end of the term exam, which my three primary children were due to take, I also paid some additional school costs totaling $80 for them. I held onto the remainder for usage by the family.

Initial Payment

Transfer Amount

55000 KES ($440 USD)

over 1 year ago

Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?

I was at home cleaning the compound with my 5 children. It was around 2 pm when I received the message notification on my phone. After checking my phone, I was very happy to see that I had received the cash transfer. I was positive that I would accomplish most of my goals through the aid. I had to wait for my spouse who was out to pick up the kids from school. When he arrived I informed him about the good needs and we together celebrated receiving the transfer and started to make plans on how to use the transfer.

Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.

Owning a nice shelter for the family is the biggest different in our life. Currently, we will no longer spent sleepless nights during the rain season due to the leaking roof. Additionally, we are enjoying our night on proper and comfortable beddings with my family members.

What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?

I spent $140 of my recent transfer to purchase proper bedding for the family. This is because I have been sleeping in an old, thread-twisted traditional bed which is uncomfortable to sleep on. Furthermore, I used a larger part of the remaining amount to construct a decent two-roomed, mud-walled, iron-roofed house for the family. Currently, I am glad to see the ongoing house construction at our compound which will be completed in 2 weeks. I am looking forward to relocating to our new house. Previously, we were living in an old, rusty iron-roofed house that was leaking. Additionally, I used the remaining part to purchase sufficient food for the family since we did not have enough food.

Enrolled

almost 2 years ago

What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?

Building family house is still my biggest priority right now because our current dwelling unit is falling off in bits. The plan has not yet solidify but I would love to have a two roomed house with a full length hallway that I can use for storage and cooking. This should cost upwards of $500 for both materials and labor needed to set it up urgently. I'm saying so because the one I have is somehow unfinished in the sense that it's roofed halfway but already worn out with walls hanging that might cause deadly accidents. For sustainability, I will also revive my fish buss with the remaining amounts.

What is the happiest part of your day?

One month ago my husband managed to raise $200 that a particular credit company needed to be able to give him a motorcycle on loan for taxi business. I'm happy this was smooth and right now he's using the bike around the village. It made me happy that day, and I'm still happy today for my family because this gives me hope that my struggles are about to reduce. Even though we're not yet making much money right now because he's still repaying the loan, I know one day we will.

What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?

Here in the village the only thing that's quite crippling is lack of reliable sources of income. I have had to burn charcoal a lot to be able to even feed my family. I used to have a business selling fried fish at this village's shopping center, but a particular accident that occurred one day one day while preparing took me completely out of business. That day hot oil spilt on my leg and I got seriously burnt! I had to seek medication which was costly enough that it wiped out my capital. It got so hard feeding five children while paying school fees of $25 per term for two of them. My husband wasn't economically involved back then and even right now, he's a motorcycle taxi rider but using a bike that he recently took on loan. For this reason it's hard to get revenues because he's still paying credit company $30 weekly having given them a deposit of $200.