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?
Three days prior t receiving the transfers from GiveDirectly my six kids had been kicked out of school because I had not paid their debt in tuition fee and it seems the school administration ran out of patience and sent them home. When I received the money I was overwhelmed with so much joy because they would have probably been staying home for quite sometime until I got money to send them back. I paid KES 2,000 which I split between them so that they could go back to school. A balance of KES 1,000 was left so I used KES 500 to buy four packets of maize flour and used the remaining KES 500 and used it to buy a hen that I planned to rear.
3rd Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($27 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I received this funds when I had a school debt of kes 4000.I used kes 2000 to settle partly the school debt and used the remaining kes 1000 to buy food which lasted for 3 days because we are a family of 10 members.
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?
Through the funds I received from this organization my children managed to go back to school and continue with their studies after staying home for almost a week and they would have probably stayed even longer were it not for receiving the money because at the time I was completely broke.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
My children had been home for week and not attending school because at the time I could not afford to pay for their school fees and I barely have any job since I am a stay home mother who relies on my husband who does casual jobs. After the money came in I paid KEs 1,000 in tuition fee for the youngest who was in kindergarten and paid KES 2,000 for five of my children who were in primary school and there was nothing left but I was glad that my children could finally join other students because I feared they were missing out for the duration that they had been home.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
1200 KES ($11 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The message came early in the morning I was really happy because the stress of having to think of how I was going to feed my eight kids had subsided and I had even forgot that I expected some funds from this program so it was a very good feeling especially since it was unexpected.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Providing a meal for my family was much appreciated because I am a stay home mom and my husband helps transport palm wine in different places but due no rain and too much heat even the palm wine production is deteriorating leaving very little wine to harvest and therefore less pay. Plus with less money, providing for the family becomes difficult.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Since the change of weather conditions it has been extremely hard to manage to plant crops at least for subsistence farming and for our consumption and so as to avoid hunger, therefore when I received the money I went and bought a sack of maize flour which had a dozen packets in it and it went for KES 1080. As for the rest of the money I purchased a kilogram of beans for KES 100 and a half a kilogram of sugar for KES 60.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am a mother of eight children two boys and six girls. We all sleep under one roof and share the same door entrance. The house that accommodates us has two rooms one for children and the other one is for us this does not bring privacy between us. I plan to construct two separate houses for the girls and boys so as they can be free and maintain their privacy.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My children go to school at 7 am and return home in the evening. This time I feel so happy seeing them are back safely because the last two months I heard rumors of children being abducted.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I am a housewife. My husband is a motorcycle rider who transports palm wine to the market. He earns a total of 500KES irregularly because sometimes the production of wine is low that's when he decides to work here in the village and earn something to sustain us. Riding a motorbike long distances is tiresome and causes fatigue which can hinder him not be able to work the following day. As a mother have nothing to do to extend my help to my family. I had a small business here at home that could bring 150KES in a day, this helped my family when my husband missed an opportunity to work but it end up closed. I ate all the profit and the capital now I have nothing to depend on.
