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 ($502 USD)
access_time over 4 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
If I had never received the money from GiveDireclty, I would not have managed to build a new house. The home improvement that I made by building a bigger and nicer house has really made my home beautiful and pleasing to live in. I am glad that I di not have to wait any longer to save because I had done this without success fo a really long time. I am so glad that GD enabled me to finally succeed.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly did well because the officers were soft-spoken and took time to train us on various ways of being the ability to utilize the money. They even trained us on how to use a mobile money account, something that was complete to me, since I had never owned a phone before.
What did you spend your second transfer on?
I spent my second transfer on building a house. I spent most of the money on timber and iron roofing sheets. In my homestead, I had only one house. It was a small, mudwalled house. It was too old too. felt that needed to build another but I could not raise enough money to do it until GiveDirectly.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($542 USD)
access_time almost 5 years ago
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Describe the biggest difference in your daily life.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the newly built house that I have managed to put up after receiving this transfer. I never thought that I would be able to actualize this plan and when I received the transfer, I purposed to make it happen. I am so proud that I have been able to build a new house and I am looking forward to completing it once I receive my next transfer.I was living in a very small grass thatched house that made my family so uncomfortable but due to financial difficulties, I was not able to build it over all that time. I feel so proud of this achievement and I am looking forward to actualizing my dream of even furnishing the new house.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I felt so happy the moment I received money from GiveDirectly. I was lost for words since I had never received such huge amounts of money before in my entire life. I then got down to planning how I was going to spend the money to make sure that I actualized all my earlier plans.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I used all of my recent transfer to build a new house. I was living in a very small grass thatched house and all along I have been thinking of building a bigger and better house. When GiveDirectly transfers came, I made a conscious decision to build a timber walled house that is roofed of iron sheets. I am happy that this is nearing completion and I am eagerly waiting for the second transfer to be able to actualize this plan.
Enrolled
access_time 5 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
My dream has always been to build another house.A bigger one with an iron roof.My current house is small and grass thatched.It leaks during the rainy season.I have never owned a house with an iron roof and I am happy that Give Directly will make this happen.The house will cost me not less than Ksh 40,000(400 USD).My second plan is buying a dairy cow.I have one cow that produces 2 litres a day.My target is boosting this to 7 litres a day by buying a more improved breed.The cost of 1 litre of milk is Ksh 30.With Ksh 210 a day I will be able to buy food without struggling much.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I spend the morning hours in my farm and the afternoon hours looking after my cattle.At the end of the day I am usually very tired. I feel happy and relieved after I am done with the day's activities.Evening is my time to relax.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I have faced in my life is financial constraints.The money I get from my farm is barely enough to satisfy all the needs.Sometimes there are needs that arise and we are forced to either borrow money or sell property.For example I fell sick few years ago and was admitted to hospital for two weeks.I had to sell the goats and chicken I had inorder to settle the bill.I also had to seek the good will of friends and relatives.This makes me feel desperate.I just wish I had enough money especially at this age when there are many diseases associated with old age.
