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 ($442 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?
My new goal is to be able to improve my business of making ropes. I normally make up to KES 800 per day on a good day and KES 500 on a bad day from selling these ropes. The money that I get here is enough to not only sustain the needs of my family but also make merry go round contributions. My goal is to diversify my business by buying and selling cereals which I am hopeful will increase my income and consequently change our living standards positively. How I plan to actualize this goal is by using money that I will collect from merry go round contributions and using the same to start the cereal selling business.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion GiveDirectly did very well by giving us the freedom to choose what to spend money on. Right now, different people have been able to do different things that are of benefit to them and their families. Every household is happy and lucky to have received the money from GiveDirectly and it is all evident across the village.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used the entire transfer to buy a piece of land. We have been living in a very small portion of land that we were given by our parents and we always looked forward towards buying a piece of land. I am personally very happy that we were able to buy 2 tenth of an acre added to the tenth that we had to make it three tenths. I am also a mother of six and the small piece of land that we had would not allow us to easily make ends meet but right now at least we are in a position to improve our farming practices as we have enough space at our disposal. We are so grateful to GiveDirectly for making our dreams achievable within a time that we did not expect to achieve this. My husband does off casual jobs while I also run a small business where I make ropes and sell at a profit. This money has always been just enough to feed our children and do very little in terms of development projects. We are just so grateful to GiveDirectly for their support.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($484 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
My transfer came late in the evening when I was busy with the house chores, suddenly I heard my phone ringing, upon checking I saw a Mpesa notification showing that I had received a sum of KES 55000, I immediately rushed out to inform my helper, it was the happiest day in my life, we then embarked on planing on how we would cash out the money. I was so happy and relieved because I knew that I will be able to execute my plans smoothly.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my life today is that I can harvest rainwater, this is because I was able to construct an iron sheet house, we used to buy drinking water but with this, we will be able to save up money on the cost of buying water daily, I am grateful for the support that changed my life to a higher level in the society.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a local businesswoman and a mother of six children, when I received my transfer, I thought of building a decent house for my family, this is because the house that I was living in before was small and grass-thatched, It was not enough to contain the seven of us, therefore the transfer came as a big relief where I used KES 40,000 in constructing a house, I then used the remaining part money in buying foodstuffs and clothes.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receipt of this money means a dramatic improvement in our lives. We have been languishing in poverty since I was born through to my marriage life. To me, this grant is a miracle, I can say nothing but bless God. I will use approximately KES 45000 on building a bigger and better house. The only single-roomed house cannot comfortably accommodate my family of 8. Some of my children usually sleep at my neighbor's place, something that exposes them to some risks and discomforts. Besides this, I will spend about KES 15000 on purchasing clothing for my family members since currently, we are wearing tattered ones. Finally, I shall use the remaining amount on acquiring food for my family because we have never had adequate stock. Precisely, we have always been eating unsatisfying food for a while now.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I have been saving some money through a merry-go-round Sacco that I enrolled in. I usually make and sell robes at a nearby open-air market. Each Monday, market day, I would attain about KES 300 from the business. We used the savings on purchasing a cow because we had never afforded to buy one. This is a priceless investment milestone that we have had as a family.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest challenges that we are currently facing entail the following: continued inadequacy of food, and use of tattered clothing. My husband usually gets a daily wage of KES 100 from his hotel contract casual job. This amount is so meager compared to the needs of my family of 8. We also have only 0.2 acres of arable land, a piece that cannot get us sufficient food.
