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 ($465 USD)
access_time over 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 business of buying and selling cows. I have been doing the business of buying and selling eggs but I am making very little profit out of it. I would hence like to start the business of buying and selling the cows because the profit that one can make from it is bigger. Doing so will enable me to get enough money that I can pay school fees for my child comfortably.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly is very fair in how they enroll people into their program. They are not biased and they do not ask for a bribe to enroll anyone as long as you are meeting the criteria. I hence do not see anything wrong with the way they do their work since everything went well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 40000 of my recent transfer on buying a piece of land. I bought a point of an acre to add to another point that I had bought with the first transfer. Buying a piece of land has always been my dream since I want to move out from home and settle somewhere else where I can have some peace of mind with my child. I am still living at home with my brother's family and at times conflicts arise especially between my sister-in-law and me. I am thus grateful to GiveDirectly because their transfer has enabled me to achieve my dream, something I never thought I will accomplish soon due to financial constraints. Other than the above, I also spent KES 9000 on buying some trees that I plan to cut down and use to start building a house on the piece of land that I bought. With the remaining KES 6000, I used it to buy two bags of maize for the consumption of my family.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($486 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I am a local businesswoman in the village, therefore I am normally out of my house most of the time, therefore the day I received my transfer, I was busy with my house chores so that I could step out of the house early, that was when I received a call from my dad informing me that he had received money from GiveDirectly, upon checking my phone I saw a Mpesa notification showing that I had received money, it was the happiest day in my life, I knew that I will be able to acquire a parcel of land with the transfer which was close to my heart.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
owning my land has been the greatest desire of my heart, this is because of the land disputes and conflict among my kinsmen, but I am happy that all this is in the past because I was able to purchase a parcel of land with my first transfer, my business has also improved, therefore generating more income, my life is now different than it was and I am grateful for the achievement that I have now.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Being a businesswoman, I had to plan before receiving the transfer to avoid impulse buying, therefore I had planned on purchasing a piece of land to stay away from the family conflict which was arising all the time due to land issues, before I bought a parcel of land at KES 35,000, In addition to that I topped up my business with KES 20,000 which I am hopeful that it will be able to generate more income. I was unable to accomplish all this due to an unreliable source of income and also the responsibilities that I had. All this wouldn't have been possible if I hadn't received the transfer from GiveDirectly and I am grateful.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means that I can finally relocate from my father's house which he left for me when they moved to live in another part of the county with my mum. It is hard to live here. My inlaws are harsh towards me because I am single. Conflicts in the compound arise all the time mainly because we have to share resources like land to grow crops. I wish to buy a small piece of land, using part of the transfer, so that I can settle there and be free to grow food crops such as maize,beans and keep a dairy cow.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is in the afternoon because this is the time when I go from farm to farm buying eggs.It makes me happy because I meet my suppliers who are eager to have me collect their products. I am always delighted to meet them, seeing them counting trays of eggs for me.It is my only source of income and I enjoy doing the business.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship that I face is food insufficiency. I rely on a small business of trading in chicken eggs. The profits that I get from this business is only KES 100 per day. This is barely enough to buy foodstuffs that I need daily such as; milk, vegetables, maize flour and cooking oil. I feel that I should increase the number of eggs that I trade in to earn about KES 300 per day in profits.
