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 ($461 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
After receipt of my transfers I have been running a lot of activities, I now have a new goal of putting a ceiling in a house that my children had built for me. I am currently selling vegetables and eggs towards saving so that I can complete the house.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, Givedirectly by sending kind officers at the initial stages of enrollment. The officers gave us pieces of advice that were worth it. I do not see what Givedirectly did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
On receiving the second transfer, I purchased a heifer for KES 18,000. I opted to buy another one after the one I had died of because of a sudden illness. I am happy since once the heifer grows in the future, it will provide us milk for consumption. I also spent KES 27,000 in payment of school fees for my son who is in high school. I am so grateful that my son has just completed his high school education and hoping for great results. With KES 8,000, I spent in renovating the roof of my existing house since it had started leaking. It is now having a new look and we are enjoying the warmth. With the remaining part of the transfer, I bought food for my household members.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($495 USD)
access_time 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was still early in the morning when I heard a message notification on my phone. I was washing utensils at that time and I picked my phone and took it to my helper to help me read it as it had been my norm since I was eagerly waiting for the promised transfer and had to know the contents of every SMS that I received. I became so happy when she informed me that GiveDirectly had sent the promised money and I started singing happily as I knew that the transfer would enable me to better our lives.
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 have purchased a dairy cow despite my old age. I buy milk daily and this is so costly for me as I depend on small-scale farming and the amount of money that I get through this only caters to my household's basic needs. Currently, I am happy that this will end very soon and my family will have enough milk for consumption and for sale to earn an income to meet other household needs.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Paying school fees had taken a toll on my life and I ended up selling all the cows I had to see my children through school. This left me buying milk and it was expensive as I had to spend KES 50 daily on them aside from other basic needs like cooking fat and maize flour. When I received money from GiveDirectly, I spent KES 30000 to purchase a dairy cow. Also, I spent KES 12000 to build a kitchen for my family after demolishing the one we had since it was old and its walls had become weak. From the remaining amount, I spent KES 3000 on clothes 3000 and KES 10000 on food and utensils.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I was happy when I heard that GiveDirectly were coming to hold compound meetings with us since we have heard a lot about their work. Receiving this money will mean a lot to me. First, I do have one cow that I was given by my son to milk because I sold the ones I had and some land to pay school fees for my son in secondary school. I intend to use $300 to buy a cow for milk to be used at home, use $100 to complete paying my son's school fees, another $100 to be used to complete my house and use $50 to stock maize since our place is not always productive.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is in the evening because I feel good having taken care of my family's needs.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Financial constraints has been the biggest hardship. I am married to a polygamous and my husband left home and went to live with my co-wife. I was left to provide for my 10 children with the money I got from my subsistence farming. This in turn affected my saving since I had so many needs to meet.
