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
53150 KES ($461 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?
I sometimes run short of capital to use in running my business. I buy milk from people at KES 35 and sell it at KES 15 in our neighboring town. I have been buying 15 liters and if I get money, I am planning to increase the amount since the demand is high most of the time and I am not able to meet up with it. Being able to increase this business will enable me to meet our basic needs and pay school fees for my children on time.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my own opinion, GiveDirectly did well in putting smiles on our faces. This is because, with the transfer, we have been able to afford decent meals, wear good clothes and my children nowadays have enough milk for consumption unlike before.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
My sons used to sleep in their friend's houses before receiving the transfer since I had not been able to build a house for them. In addition, I had not been able to demolish our kitchen and build another one after the death of my spouse despite our culture dictating that the kitchen should be demolished before five years ends after the death of a husband. I depend on buying milk and selling them at a higher price in our nearest town and I usually earn around KES 170 after deducting my transport. I usually end up using this money on food and in paying school fees for my three children hence I had not been able to achieve my goal of building a house for us. With my second transfer, I spent KES 40000 to build a kitchen for my family and a house for my children and used the remaining amount to purchase a heifer after topping up some amount. The dairy cow is an investment to me that will lead to an increase in milk production hence an increase in income from dairy farming that I can use in paying school fees for my children.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($484 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 around 3am in the morning while sleeping when I heard an SMS alert on my phone. On checking it was KES55000 I was very excited and even woke my kids and we started celebrating and could hardly sleep till morning.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is owning a dairy cow which produces a litre of milk each day which I couldn't afford before. I also have food in bulk which I couldn't afford before and used to buy a kilo of maize meal per day from my casual labor which wouldn't suffice my family. Nowadays, with GiveDirectly transfers I am relieved of stress and my kids have grown healthier and happier.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES37000 on a dairy cow as a source of milk and income for my family because I had been milk buying for the last seven years. I also spent KES 6500 on two sacks of maize and KES7000 on clothing.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am a young widow with insignificant wealth; a peasant farmer doing crop farming on 0.8 acres of land. As such, fending for my family of five and educating my children has been a nightmare. On receiving this money, I will be much relieved. I will pay fee arrears for my daughter who is in grade 10 but has been missing classes when sent home to collect the funds. Also, I shall be assured of raising fees for the other children as well as adequately fending for my family.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Since losing my husband about three years ago, happiness is yet to be realized in my family. We are struggling to come to terms with the loss of our primary breadwinner and a father. We are going through lots of challenges including the absence of food and finances in our household. Hence, God's grace has been the only source of our peace and comfort.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Currently, the inadequacy of food and the lack of school fees for my children act as our biggest challenges. The extremely small piece of land (0.8 acres) that we rely on for survival has attracted these challenges. We usually attain poor harvests that could hardly sustain us for a while. Hence, we would have no surpluses for sale to gain income yet our main occupation is subsistence farming.
