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 ($461 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My new goal is to build a sleeping house for my grandson. He has grown older and I think it is no longer appropriate for him to be sleeping with the other children or with the guests when they come to visit our household. I had planned to build him a house of his own with part of the recent transfer, but I decided to keep the money that was meant for that work so that I could use it to cover the medical expenses of my husband who is sickly.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly did well because with their transfers, they enabled everyone to better their lives, and hence the lives of many who didn't have anything were uplifted. GiveDirectly also taught us well in the meeting with the community members. I hence do not see anything wrong with how they conduct their work. I urge them to continue with the same spirit.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 10000 of my recent transfer on paying off a debt that I was still owing the person who had sold a cow to us. I had paid him KES 30000 with the first transfer but I didn't manage to complete making the payment. We decided to buy the cow we didn't have our own. We had a borrowed one and it had dried. We were thus buying milk where we use to buy a liter everyday at KES 40. We thus decided to buy our own so that we when the owner decides to take his cow, we will be having a source of milk. It has always been our wish to buy one but we didn't have the money. I usually do casual jobs to earn money for buying household items such as sugar and milk. We do not usually buy maize because we usually grow it at our farm which is the nearby county for consumption. I also spent another KES 20000 on paying off another debt that we were owing someone. We had borrowed the amount from him because one of our children needed to undergo an operation and we didn't have the money. I am glad that I was able to pay him back and hence I no longer have any debts. With the remaining amount, I used it in buying clothes for my husband and my grandchildren who are orphans. I also used some on farming and I still have a little with me which is helping me in paying for the medical expenses of my husband who is sickly. I am thus grateful to GiveDirectly for their big help.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($484 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I came to learn that I had received my transfer when my son came to visit me, this is because at the time the transfer came it was very late at night, thus I was already asleep. upon checking my phone I saw a Mpesa message showing that I had received money from GiveDirectly, this was the best news that I had received in a long time, I had plans in place on how I would spend my transfer, therefore, my helper and I embarked on planning the next steps.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my life today is that I no longer buy milk daily for my daily consumption, this is because I was able to buy a dairy cow with the transfer that I had received from GiveDirectly, I had a cow before but unfortunately, it died, after that, I was unable to buy one before due to financial constraints. I am grateful that finally, I was able to realize my goals within a short time.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
The transfer came with excitement, this is because I knew that I would be able to transform my life, I had a cow before but unfortunately, it died, therefore I thought of buying a dairy cow to cut down on the cost of buying milk daily, hence I used KES 35,000 in purchasing a dairy cow, I then paid back a debt of KES 10,000, lastly I bought 2 bags of maize at KES 8000 and used the remaining part of the transfer in buying household items.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means my family will be food secure henceforth. At the moment, providing food is challenging as I am a casual laborer and the sole provider. My husband has been unwell for a year now, therefore not productive because he can not work. We are a family of six, five of us are my orphaned grandchildren under my care. I plan to purchase a dairy cow which will earn me an income through the sale of milk. It will cost me KES 30,000. For the rest of the amount, I will buy clothes and food for my family.
What is the happiest part of your day?
A week ago, we were called to a Give Directly meeting by our village elder. I did not know if I qualify but I have been praying and hoping that I will be among the considered. Today is the happiest day of my life as I get enrolled to benefit from the transfer.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest challenge is food insecurity. I have four orphaned grandchildren and great-grandchildren under my care. They are still young so they can not work as they are still in school. My husband is unwell, under constant medical attention therefore not productive. I am also getting old, sometimes I might not be able to do much work to earn us an income. On the days that I cannot work, my family will also not eat that day.