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 ($468 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?
The receipt of the first and the second transfer brought forth a lot of transformation to my household. Being able to move to a new land, construct a new house for my family of four, and also improve both the livestock and subsistence farming is a great achievement in my living standard. I am glad that the farming projects that I initiated are actively doing well at the moment and have always been giving me hope for a better future. Currently, I don't have any new goals but working hard to see that I further improve the farming sector and make it even more profitable.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly eliminated the biases, doubts, and corruption that have always surrounded any aid coming to the village level. The approach by GiveDirectly was so clear that after the enrollment stages, everyone received exactly what was promised. No matter the financial status of every household, GiveDirectly was open to everyone who needed the support as long as they would meet the stipulated criterion. I have no complaint at all but t congratulate ad wish GiveDirectly well as they touch other people who are in need in other villages.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
After spending the first transfer on relocating to a new piece of land and the construction of a new home, the second transfer came in to mitigate the high cost of living that we had in buying milk for my family of four. I secured a dairy cow at KES 45000 that had been providing us with enough milk not only for household use but also a surplus for sale to earn some income. I am glad that my saving habits are slowly taking shape and can look forward to the establishment of other new projects. I also improved a lot on the subsistence farming sector after a fine till of my land with the hired tractor, purchase of certified seeds, and other inputs that I later plated with the remaining KES 10000. I am grateful for the long strides that I have taken with both the transfer and am now assured that my life will never be the same again.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($508 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was 9 a.m. when I got a notification message for the first transfer. I was getting ready to leave home for the usual casual labor I had been doing then. I got so excited that I had to let every family member know that we finally received it. I had to cancel all the day's plans I had. As it was a market day, I had to secure a good breed of cow that morning as I was sure that prices were soon going to shoot as most of the villagers will be headed to the market for the same.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Owning a cow in our field and currently looking forward to seeing it calving down in the next few months is the biggest difference in my daily life. It has been an excitement every day as it is one of the most promising assets we now have alongside the small house we constructed with the remaining amount.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
With the first transfer I received, I spent 23500KES on purchasing a Jersey breed of cow. This was a plan I had been having for such a long time but accumulating my savings to spend on the purchase had never been possible. I am grateful that GiveDirectly finally came in, and the first expense I had to make was on the cow. With the remaining amount, I purchased 18 iron sheets as I had been looking forward to constructing an additional house with more space as the only one we had was getting smaller for my family of four. With all the impact I have witnessed, I am so glad and grateful to GiveDirectly for bringing us this support and God for the breakthrough when we least expected it.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
As a young family that resides in a rural setup yet has to purchase almost everything, especially food items, we have never managed to build a bigger house. The relatively little income I usually attain from my house-construction job is barely enough to meet our basic needs. Currently we live in one house that serves as the kitchen, sitting and bed rooms. Unfortunately, our two-roomed house is too small for our family of four. Also, sooth and smoke act as common nuisances we are facing since we use firewood as fuel. As such, receiving this money means that we shall afford to build another house, thus gaining more space and avoiding the smoke and sooth.
What is the happiest part of your day?
As a house-construction worker, the happiest part of my day is in the morning when I have secured some work. Jobs are scarce here, mainly because we live and work in a rural setting. Also, the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the situation because many of our usual employers seem to be experiencing adverse economic impacts; they offer limited jobs. Hence, getting some work means my family shall get food at the end of the day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
As an aspiring farmer, the biggest hardship I have faced is the absence of a suitable arable land and the harsh climatic conditions in our area. Besides, we own less than an acre of rocky land. Since we rely solely on natural rains to do farming, our crops usually die due to extreme weather conditions. As such, I have been forced to do away with farming since the little income I usually get is just enough for our survival; no funds would remain for the farming activities. The ripple effect of the failure to do crop farming is the incapacity for us to build a bigger house.
