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
53010 KES ($391 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Our objective for this year and beyond is to ensure that we have cleared my husband's school fee arrears and that he has succeeded so that he may get a job and make better our lives. We have been unable to do anything else because paying for his schooling has been prohibitively expensive for us.
After he finishes his studies, I plan to attend college for education training using the money saved from vegetable farming and if my husband has found a job by then.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
Giving us unconditional transfers has been quite beneficial, and it was an exceptional opportunity for those of us who benefited. We were able to meet our own needs the best way we could without having to worry about any conditions or even returning the money to the organization.
This created a lot of trust in us and even encouraged us to be more mindful with the money we were given.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
My family is still young, and we are still trying to settle and figure out our career choices, therefore the second transfer from Give Directly came in handy just when we needed it the most.
My husband is an electrical engineering student at KPLC Institute, and we have been trying to raise funds to pay for school fees because we have a child and none of us has a permanent job.
So, with the second transfer, we chose to pay a portion of the school fees with $300, $150 for my child's school, and $130 for vegetable farming in order to generate more cash to support our family's requirements.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($443 USD)
access_time almost 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. I was relaxing at home after a hard day's work when I heard my phone ring. Upon checking, I confirmed that indeed GiveDirectly had sent me the money as they earlier promised. It was such a joyous moment for me because the money came at a time we did not have anything in our home. We were at the verge of sleeping hungry and my husband was away looking for money to help us meet the needs of our family. When I received the money I went straight to the market withdrew some and did some shopping with it. When my husband came home later that evening, he was surprised that I had bought some stuff and he was so quick to ask me how I did that. I informed him that we had been sent the money that GiveDirectly had promised and he was so impressed.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life since I started receiving these transfers is the dairy cow that I bought. I now have enough milk from the dairy cow that I bought and with this I even get money to save from the small business that I run. My family is generally happier than we were before receiving the first transfer and we are so grateful for this. Our living standards have significantly improved as well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used $380 to buy a dairy cow and used the remaining amount of $170 to buy food, clothes and furniture for the household. For a long time we did not have a dairy cow in our home because the little money that I got from my small business in town would provide us with just enough to make ends meet because my husband was still in school and every little income that we got was channelled towards payment of his school fees. It is for this reason that that we made a decision to buy a dairy cow after receiving this first transfer.
Enrolled
access_time 2 years ago
What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?
We used to have a poultry project which was assisting us a great deal. Sometimes this year in April there was an outbreak of chicken Newcastle disease that wiped out all my 20 Chickens and several chicks. I could get at least $1.50 from the sale of eggs which was enough to meet my daily needs. After a deep consultation with my husband, we have decided to purchase a dairy cow with this help from Give Directly since cows are not susceptible to diseases like chickens. It is for this reason that we intend to purchase a dairy cow for $400 for milk production for household consumption and sell the surplus to earn a living. This will be a bigger boost for us and we are extremely happy. We have not been able to purchase one because most of our resources have gone to school fees and we have been inadequate financially. At last, we can afford a smile and anticipate an improved livelihood to better our living standard.
What is the happiest part of your day?
We have been struggling to raise school fees for my husband who is undertaking his diploma course in Electrical Engineering at Kenya Power College. He is currently in his second year, and it has been God's grace for the far he has come, the fees for the first year of study alone were $1040, we cannot explain how we even got such a high amount. It is still a miracle! He is on the verge of completion just 6 months shy of completion and no amount of words can explain how joyful I am. Indeed with resilience and sacrifice, everything is possible. I am pretty sure he will complete his training soon and secure a job and that will be a lifetime achievement of a dream come true.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Life is unbearable and we struggle a lot to make ends meet. My husband, Leonard, is in college in Nairobi and so I am left alone to fend for our family. We struggle to buy foodstuffs. Food insecurity has been a problem for some time now, we use to plant maize crops in the past and it used to do well but since the outbreak of the maize necrosis disease, its production has been a thing of the past. We are forced to buy from vendors at the nearby Kapkwen Market. Recently, the price of maize grain shot up to $1.80 per Kg which is costly and sometimes unaffordable. We live from hand to mouth and we are always worried about what to eat the next day. We live each day as it comes but with uncertainties.
