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 ($467 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I have two children who are still in secondary school and I am planning to expand my current business of buying and selling maize. With this, my daily income will increase and I will be able to provide for the basic needs of our family and pay their school fees on time. Expanding this business will also enable me to start saving some money that I can later use in case of emergencies.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
Life had become unbearable to some of us in the village. Getting money for three meals a day had become a challenge and our children were constantly out of school due to a lack of school fees. With the transfer, our lives have never remained the same. We still follow the meaningful advice that we were given and it has impacted our lives positively.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
After paying school fees and buying a piece of land using my first transfer, I decided to spend KES 30000 to add another point of land so that I can be planting maize for our consumption on this it. I am glad that I have been able to expand the size of land that I own and I believe that we will not be buying maize most of the time this year. In addition, I spent KES 3200 on radio, used KES 3000 to buy more stock for my current business of buying and selling maize and spent the remaining amount on food, utensils, and clothes for the family.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($496 USD)
access_time 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The thought of relieving my son of the stress of traveling back and forth from the school in search of school fees filled me with lots of joy when I received the first transfer. I had been struggling to make him comfortable in school but the lack of a reliable source of income could not fully satisfy that. I felt relieved on receiving the confirmation message of that transfer as I had been equally disturbed as my son. Since I had all plans in place, I had to stop all I was doing on my farm that morning, moved to the nearest town, and withdrew that money before making the payment to the school.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Even though I had so many things that needed much of the transfer I received, settling school fees for my son who is currently in his final year at school brought the biggest difference in my daily life. Currently, I can wake up feeling relieved and not thinking of another new way to try and raise his school fees. This has also given my son a good time to prepare as he was missing a lot in class every time he was sent home unlike now that he can attend all the lessons.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
After several instances where my son was sent back from school after I failed to pay his school fees, I was glad to finally get this support from GiveDirectly. I had just taken back my child to school the previous week where I talked to the headteacher to allow him in for just a week since I was expecting this first transfer. On receiving it, I ensured that I honored my promise by settling that financial obligation I had in school to give my son ample time to prepare for his final examination. I had a debt of KES 12000 that I paid on receiving the transfer. I also paid half the cost of a piece of land I am currently buying as I needed an additional field for my livestock. With the remaining amount, I obtained a sack of maize worth KES2800, a 25 Kilogram bag of rice at KES2000, a water storage facility worth KES 1500, and used the remaining amount on improving the grocery and maize business I had been running at the immediate shopping center.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money will mean financial freedom. I Currently own a business ( selling vegetables and maize) once a week when we have market days. It generates KES 500 on those days. I would love to sell the Vegetables and maize daily but we do not have enough capital to expand it. My husband works as a local painter in near by towns and gets paid KES 4,000 on days he has work. Our total income can not sustain us or pay fees for our children. From this transfer we'll be able to use KES 15,000 to expand my business and give my services each day of the week. The remaining amount will be used to buy a dairy cow for our children's milk and we can sell some to get extra income.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is at noon. My children and husband both leave the house in the morning to school and work. At noon I get to cook for my children and eat with them when they come home for lunch before going back for afternoon classes.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship we face is unemployment that has resulted to insufficient income for the household. My husband's job as a painter is not guaranteed and our small business of selling vegetables and maize once a month are both not sustainable to help the family grow out of poverty.
