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.
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2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($435 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I am looking forward to save money that I earn from casual work to buy a Friesian cow. I am also looking forward to put more effort on vegetable farming. Accomplishing these two will mean that I will be able to sell milk and vegetables in the near future and pay school fees for my children. I will also be able to provide basic need for my family.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
What GiveDirectly does well is empowering the less fortunate in the society by giving them unconditional cash. This means that they are able to cater for their basic needs and also invest toward the future where possible,
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Living in a two rooms muddy house with my six children has not been easy and I have desired to give them better living conditions but since my husband and I are peasant farmers, we couldn't meet our desires. Being enrolled in the program was a dream come true as we could foresee ourselves having our dream home and living happily ever after with our children. With our first transfer, we were able to raise a two bedroom structure which wed spend $300 of our second transfer to put up a roof. We were also able to settle school fees balance of $150 which we were not able to pay before and now our children have been allowed to settle in school without being send home. I spend the balance buy food for my family and I am so thankful to GiveDirectly for the support.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($465 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I felt so happy the moment I received money from GiveDirectly. It was around 7:00 pm and I was at home with the entire family. I heard my phone ring and on checking I confirmed that we had received money from GiveDirectly. We organized ourselves on how to spend the money and we first of all paid school fees for our child who is in secondary school before we could prioritize on other spending areas.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that we live in a more happy family having accomplished the things that we purposed to accomplish. We would not have been able to for example pay school fees for our child nor buy the heifer that we bought with the money we received from GiveDirectly. This would often leave us stressed on where and how to find money. It would be very likely for example to have our daughter home for school fees and we would not have bought the heifer that we bought.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We spent KES 10000 to pay school fees for our daughter who is in form three. We used another KES 20000 to buy a heifer and used the remaining amount to practice farming and to buy clothes for the family. We made a decision to buy a dairy cow because we did not have one and the this will definitely help us in future to meet any emergency needs such as payment of school fees in future. We are blessed with six children and we mainly rely on farming to make ends meet and to meet all our needs in the family.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
We have been struggling in vain to purchase a cow that would provide us with milk mainly for consumption. Since more than have of my family members (8) are young children who depend primarily on milk as a source of protein, we are happy to receive this money to ensure the presence of milk in our house. We usually, spend at least KES 40 daily on purchasing milk from our neighbors. We feel that this aid will boost us a lot.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Witnessing the excellent performance of our daughter who is at a nearby day secondary school has been the main source of joy for us. We are optimistic about a better future once she completes her studies and secures a well-paying job. She will help us get out of the extreme poverty that we experience.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Food inadequacy is the biggest challenge we are facing as a family. We are taking care of 9 children (3 of whom belong to my late sister). As a parent, I always feel bad and ashamed to see my children go hungry or miss some meals. We usually do some casual jobs and collect firewood (for sale) from a nearby forest to gain additional income for supplementing benefits from our subsistence farming.
