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 ($435 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?
In the coming year and beyond I am planning to start a groceries shop. I once did it during the pandemic and it collapsed as I never had any other source of income.People tend to buy groceries on a daily basis, with the high demand, there is a high possibility of getting good profits that will be catering for the basic items of the family like buying food and education for our children.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, what GiveDirectly does well in this program is that we receive the transfers in lumpsum amounts. This helps in planning as one is in a position to do something huge as compared to when the transfers are given in small instalments.
Another thing that GiveDirectly does well is that the unlearned recipients are taught how to use mpesa. This has reduced the number of theft cases in the community as most of us managed to change our pins to a more secure code.
What needs to be done differently is enrolling all the individuals in the household to avoid household conflict. During enrollment, those individuals who did not have responsibilities by then were left out of the program yet these are the same people who steal from their old and vulnerable parents.
Another thing that needs to be done differently is enrolling all the communities in a specific village for uniformity purposes and this will prevent too many complaints coming from the communities that are left out during the registration to the programs.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I have a family of five. Three of them are in secondary, they are in form two, three and four. Paying their school fees has been the most challenging task in my family and most of the times they have been in and out of the school. I used part of the transfers of kshs 20,000 to pay for their fees balances. I do subsistence farming for a living since I do not have a stable job currently, I used kshs 10,000 to buy fertilizers and to pay casual workers who assisted me in farming. I used the remaining part of the transfers of kshs 20,000 to buy a cow to produce milk for sale and consumption.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($471 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
7:23 am I was taking my breakfast
When I heard a message notification from my phone
When I checked it out I felt so happy
My spouse felt so happy
I knew I would be able to to pay school fees
I withdrew the money the same day
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
40k School fees
Depend on horticulture. Planting tomatoes and vegetables
I sell maize at the shopping center
My children are studying well
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
40k. School fees for my two children in secondary school.
13k a heife
Food
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Good and quality education is what I want for my children. Since I rely on farming to earn a living, paying school fees for my three children in secondary school has been an uphill task due to the unfavourable weather conditions. I will use the transfers to pay for whole academic year school school fees which totals to KES 73,000. I am joyful because they will be able to study without any interference and this will improve their performance.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My first born daughter passed her primary levels education to join secondary school six months ago. This made me happy because I know she will lead a good future and be able to pursue her dream career in teaching.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Financial constraints is a challenge because we do not have a stable source of income. Subsistence farming is dependent on rainfall patterns which is unpredictable. A month ago, I spent KES 15,000 to do tomatoes farming unfortunately lack of consistent rainfall led it to drying up. This was a big loss because I loaned the money to repay from the proceeds of the farm.
