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.
Learn more about how recipients opt in to share their stories.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Drought has really impacted our community in the worst way possible. Before we did have sunny day but then the rain would eventually fall and we could in our farms and ready the land. The harvest was our source of meal providence for our families but now we starve almost on a daily basis especially considering the high living conditions. When I received the money, considering nutrition for my family and I was a no-brainer because we had no food in the house and gone hungry a couple of times. I used KES 1,300 to buy a bag of maize flour that contained a dozen packets. The following agenda was to pay school fees for my kids since they had been kicked out of school two days prior, so I went ahead and paid KES 1,000 for two of my kids. I was left with KES 700 and I used it to buy some items in the house that included sugar, laundry detergent and kerosene.
3rd Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($27 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I received the third transfer during the Christmas season but my children did not have decent clothes. They had outgrown most of their clothes while some were worn out. I, therefore, bought them new clothing with a bigger portion of the recent transfer (KES 2500). The smile on their faces could tell how excited they were. A portion of the money I spent on some of the foodstuffs for the family.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($27 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion I think this organization is doing a great job and with proper planning this money will be very beneficial to me and my family as well as the community because the poverty level in this area was a lot but now there is great improvement economically which makes us very happy.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Actually a day before I had received the transfers my child had actually been sent home from school since I had yet to clear the balance from her tuition fee. Immediately after I received the money that is the first issue I dealt with so since I owed the school and so I paid KES 800 and was finally done with all the arrears. Then at that time I my son and I were also feeling under the weather and after going to hospital to seek professional help was informed I suffered from malaria and paid KES 1,000 and as for my son I paid KES 300. As for the remaining bit of what was left I used KES 500 and bought five packets of maize flour then bought one kilogram of sugar, two kilograms of beans and laundry detergent which was KES 130, KES 140 and KES 100 respectively.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($27 USD)
access_time 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I am a stay home so most times I am home taking care of my toddler while my other child goes to school, so on that day the message came in early in the morning at around nine and it caught me by surprise but I was most definitely happy because now I could take care of some things in my house and my kid too.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Enabling me to manage to pay for my sons tuition fee that had been piling was very much a big deal, because I do not have a job and my husband tries from time to time to get small jobs here and there so that he could provide for us since he is the provider most times since he does not have anything permanent.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Upon receiving my transfers I decided to instantly pay for my sons tuition fees since for a week he went to school and on every single day he was sent back home due to upaid balances, so when I received the money I paid an approximate of KES 1000 and I was left with KES 500 to pay but at least I had covered most of the debt. I also decided to buy a couple of things for the kitchen which included maize flour, four kilograms of rice, three kilograms of beans and laundry detergent which all went for KES 1000.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Change is inevitable and I feel it's now time to own a good house. Every time I look at the mud walls it stirs my desire to rebuild them. I detest the sight of termite mounds all over the house. I even fear that it might fall if further damage occurs. With the transfers, I plan to purchase building materials every month until there is enough to kick off the project. Once this is done it will save me from the constant repairs and my family will no longer worry about housing.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Being a mother I have endless household chores to perform every day. I retire to bed a very tire,d person. However, in the morning I feel very energetic and ready to face them.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My family operates on 1500 KES a month, an amount that is supposed to cater for all our basic needs. With the difficult economic situation, living on such a budget is not a walk in the park. My child cannot even put up with school because I cannot comfortably raise the 1200 KES that is required every term. Sometimes I am torn between buying food and paying school fees.
