GiveDirectly: Send money directly to the extreme poor

2nd Payment

Transfer Amount

53150 KES ($516 USD)

over 5 years ago

How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?

My life is different right now because I was able to plow and farm on my one-acre piece of land. I have never planted anything on that piece of land ever since because of lack of finances that is required to invest in such projects. However, all this changed when Give Directly came to our village and gave us the unconditional cash transfers.

In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?

My village mates are so happy with GD programs because a number of people used the money to buy certain things which they never had before. There are those who bought TV sets, mattresses, solar panels, music systems, and livestock. At times getting money to buy some of these things is never easy especially in the rural set-up where we live.

What did you spend your second transfer on?

I invested the money in my agricultural activities which involved planting, plowing and weeding the farm. I planted the sugarcane on a one-acre piece of land which I expect to give me a good harvest after a period of around one year. I also used a portion of the money to pay school fees for my children who are currently in secondary schools

Initial Payment

Transfer Amount

55000 KES ($547 USD)

almost 6 years ago

Describe the biggest difference in your daily life.

The biggest difference in my daily life is that, as a family, we have improved in terms of nutrition. I can now pay my bills with a lot of ease and my granddaughter can now go to school without her sent back home for school fees. Sincerely, I can confirm that my life has got a lot of improvement compared to my past life. I have prepared my lands on time ready for planting this season which never happened before.

Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?

The moment I received my money, I was very happy. The the first thing I did was to pray and thank God because he is the one who cares for the orphans and widows. I had surety that my grand daughter will complete her education for her future job market. I am strong believer that for someone be marketable in modern job demand he/she must be well educated.

What did you spend your first transfer on?

I spent my first transfer on school fee payment and remaining I invested in agribusiness. I am taking care of my grand daughter who is an orphan but because I have retired from teaching profession, I had no stable income to pay for her school fees and due to that, I took payment of school fees as my first priority in my financial expenditure.

Enrolled

6 years ago

What does receiving this money mean to you?

Receiving this money means that we are going to engage in commercial farming. For a very longtime we have always wanted to plant sugarcane in large scale but due to pressure of high school and college fees for our children we have not been able to realise that dream. With this cash transfer we shall be able to plough our four acre farm and plant sugarcane because sugarcane have ready market in our local milling factories. It is out of these proceeds that we shall be able to continue paying fees and improve our home.

What is the happiest part of your day?

My happiest part of the day is usually in the afternoon after doing some work in the farm to exercise my body. Usually I have tired nights because I do a lot of manual work in the day. I cannot be happy too in the morning as I have to wake up early and attend to my farm.

What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?

The biggest hardship I have faced is lack of money for fees to my children. After I retired four years ago, I have been without any source of income, my family have to limit on daily meals so that we save for school fees, this strategy affected the performance of the children because of the anxiety of having to study amid the struggle that they see us go through.