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 ($477 USD)
access_time 3 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I had wanted to renovate my house because the foundation to the house was not that great and my house was almost falling apart and I also wanted to at least manage to buy a couple of livestock so that I could rear for both domestic and commercial benefits.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly almost seemed heaven sent because previously all this things I have mentioned to have done like buying the livestock and renovating my house seemed to be distant thoughts because I had no idea where we would get the funds from. So thanks to GiveDirectly different things have changed for the better in my home and I am genuinely grateful and I hope it keeps doing the awesome job it does.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
After receiving the first transfer from this program I went ahead and purchased three cows which had cost me KES 34,000 so after getting the second part of the funds my husband and I went ahead and bought bricks and cement and the cement cost around KES 5,500 since we bought ten packets and also planned on using some of the money to pay the labourers.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($500 USD)
access_time 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was at exactly 10:5 AM when I was going to my farm when y cellphone started ringing. That was an indication of an incoming message therefore, I decided to ask my spouse to check the content. On checking, he realized that it was an Mpesa message from GiveDirectly. I was shocked and happy beyond measures. I finally knew that I would finally buy the cows hence moving my life to the next level. May God continue blessing this organization for their good deeds
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I am now a proud owner of livestock; I own a dairy cow and a pair of oxen. I settled for them because it has been my dream to one day own one or two for a while now but I couldn't afford them due to my unsustainable source of income. With the dairy cow that I recently bought using GiveDirectly funds, I am positive that very soon I will be getting plenty of liters of milk and am hoping to start a business of selling the milk in the nearby dairy shops. I aim to save the money in my bank account which will later help me in paying school fees for my children once they transition to secondary schools. I believe this is a brilliant idea since getting other assistance in the future is not guaranteed. In addition to that, the pair of oxen will greatly help me preparing my farm on time and this will enable me to utilize my whole farm which was not possible back in the day. I have been depending on my family as a source of labor which was not but since my children are still young we could not plough even an acre due to the hard clay soil. This also assures me of getting lots of farm harvests in the future. Finally, I will be hiring them for my neighbors at a fee, this will be an additional
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent part of my first transfer on buying some livestock more so a dairy cow and a pair of oxen at a total of KES 35000. These have been my well thoughtful assets since I believe they have numerous benefits and I can readily rely on them in case of any financial constraints. I later bought two wooden beds and two mattresses which were for my children and I at a total of KES 24000. Previously, we used to sleep on the traditional beds and using mats as mattresses and there were lots of discomforts. With the remaining amount I bought two plastic chairs to replace the logs that I have been using and I am very glad that I will also no longer be borrowing from friends.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I have been depending on subsistence farming for a long time but this has not been reliable to me due to the inconsistent rains in our area. This has been a challenge to me in meeting the very basic needs of my family and sometimes I have to seek help from my relatives. I have desired to have the opportunity to till the entire land of 6 acres but since I use hoes, this has been impossible. I therefore, plan to own oxen and ox-plough to help me in upscaling my farming. I will spend utmost $380 of my transfers to make my dream come to reality. The remaining amount will help me to re-enforce my house with some hardcore and also to use part of it to pay school fees for my children.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My day starts very early in the morning mostly at 6:00 am, where I prepare my children for school. Thereafter, I do some household chores like fetching water and cooking. When it reaches in the evening, I usually feel exhausted but it is at this time when I get ample time to rest. The resting re-energizes me most for the next day's activities and hence, I consider the evening being the happiest part of my day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My husband is physically disabled and doing hard work to him is very difficult. This has forced me to assume all his responsibilities and since I depend on subsistence farming, sometimes I feel more challenged in meeting our basic needs. Hence, I consider financial instability in my household as the biggest hardship that I have ever faced.
