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 ($528 USD)
access_time over 4 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I have been able to buy some dairy cows using financial help from GiveDirectly. Due to this, I no longer buy milk daily and this has helped me in reducing my daily expenditure. I also believe that the other cows will be calving soon and I will get enough milk for our consumption and sale to earn an income. I will be using this money to cater for our daily needs and my children's education. To me, these cows are assets that I can rely on in case of financial constraints.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly did well in uplifting our lives by giving us financial help with no conditions and I do not see what they did not do well.
What did you spend your second transfer on?
When I received my second transfer, I bought three heifers as a way of expanding my dairy keeping project. When they reproduce, my family will have enough milk for consumption and sale to earn an income. I will be using this money to pay school fees for my children and to meet our daily needs. I used the remaining amount to buy food and decent clothes for my family.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($530 USD)
access_time 5 years ago
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Describe the biggest difference in your daily life.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have bought three Ox. I depend on casual jobs in the village to earn an income to meet all the basic needs of the family. I had no extra money to save to buy Ox. I used to cultivate a small piece of land because I did not have the oxen to plough the farm and at the end of the season we were not able to get a good harvest. Sometimes I could borrow Ox from my neighbors. Currently, I have my own Ox and ploughing my farm is an easy task I do not depend on someone else effort or Ox for this job. I have cultivated a bigger parcel of land and after the season I have hope that I will get a good harvest and my family will have enough food to eat. I will sell the surplus to earn an income to pay school fees for my children in school.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The moment I received the money I felt so happy. I remember it was very early in the morning when I was checking my phone as usually. When I checked the message, I found a message confirming that I have received 55000KES from GiveDirectly. It was not easy to believe this. I had to confirm this from the M-pesa agent shop at the center. I felt so happy because I have never received such an amount of money before. My family members were also so happy. I knew I would be able to buy the Ox that I had always wanted to own.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I spent my first transfer to buy three ox. This has always been my dream to own them but due to the small income that I earn from the casual jobs in the village itv was not possible. I also bought two goats, clothes and food for my family members. The rests of the money I used it to buy farm inputs.
Enrolled
access_time over 5 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money will enable me to add more livestock to my herd since livestock rearing is what i financially depend on. I also plan to buy chicken to start up poultry keeping in order to suppliment the income i get from my livestock
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is in the morning after waking up to milk and feed my three dairy cattle before driving them to their grazing fields in the forest. I am most happy when the cattle produce more litres of milk for sale which indicates that they were properly fed the previous day. This makes mornings the happiest part of my day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Crop pests and diseases as well as unpredictable poor climatic conditions has made it hard to get good harvests which is the challenge i currently face since initially, i used to depend on subsistence farming for survival unlike nowdays whereby crop farming has poor returns. This has made it more difficult providing for my family hence its the biggest hardship i have faced.
