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 ($455 USD)
access_time almost 2 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Yes, my new goal is to buy a grass cutting machine for my two dairy cows. I have already started saving towards the same and I hope I will be able to achieve my new goal soon.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
I don't think there's anything that GiveDirectly doesn't do well and what GiveDirectly does well is supporting us through the cash transfers and leaving us at liberty of making decisions on how to spend it. Through this, People are able to see how they can lift themselves up.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a local dairy farmer and previously, I used to spend part of my income that I earned from selling milk to buy grass to feed my cows. This was because, the small piece of land that I had was only enough for subsistence farming. I have always wanted to buy a piece of land to grow enough grass for my cows so that I can be able save the money that I usually spend to buy grass towards some other projects. Since I couldn't raise enough money by myself, being enrolled in the program was a good opportunity for me to achieve what I was not able to achieve for a long time. I saved my first transfer and when I received my second transfer, I was able to buy a piece of land. I have already planted grass and I'm looking at to start cutting it to feed my cows in a few months time.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($484 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I realized that my transfer had been sent at around 11pm. That day I had gone to bed at around 9pm and immediately fell asleep. So when I woke up and checked my phone, I was shocked to see an Mpesa message. I was overwhelmed with joy to have received that amount of money. I could not hide my joy but rather to share with my wife who out of happiness advised me that we use the transfer to complete making payment for the purchase for a parcel of land we had identified.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my life since I began receiving my transfer is being relieved from the burden of looking for money to complete making payment for my parcel of land. Upon investing the transfer first in my business, I was able to raise sufficient money within 1 month hence I had less struggle to acquire my piece of land. As a result, I was able to use my savings to buy a cow which has begun producing milk for my family.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent all of my most recent transfer on expanding my business of selling clothes. This ran for a month in order to boost my business return. Thereafter, I withdraw about KES 100,000 from my business to complete parcel of land. I am glad that now I have began to use it for farming and it will benefit my family a great deal. Thanks to GiveDirectly for it's financial support.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means starting of building my asset base. I bought a piece of land 6 months ago but I'm yet to pay off the whole amount, I still owe the owner KES 200,000. With this money, I plan to pay the owner KES 50,000. The rest of the amount I will use to expand my clothes business. This business has greatly helped me in paying up this farm. As we are approaching the festive season, I foresee that I will be having a lot of sales which needs me to stock up now to attract customers.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Six months ago, my wife got a permanent job as a teacher at a government school. It was such a relief for us as she was now able to secure a loan which we used to purchase a piece of land. This is our first investment and it really makes me happy every time I look at the farm we bought.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Financial constraints are the biggest challenge. I dropped out of university education because of lack of school fees. My wife was employed a year ago, and together we took a loan of KES 1.3 million. With this money, we bought a piece of farm and started a clothing business that I run. The challenge is repaying this loan because it is deducted from my wife's payslip. This means she earns less than KES 10,000 a month. The business is sometimes is unstable because of competition hence we hardly get income to meet other needs like food.
