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 ($468 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?
My goal is to start up poultry farming especially to keep layers chicken whereby I can get eggs daily and sell to get daily cash inflow. I depend on casual jobs which I get 100 shillings per day which cannot sustain all my family's needs.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, Givedirectly did well by giving us unconditional cash transfers and empowering us to spend on our own needs. The education we got from the officers gave us a deeper understanding of the company. I do not have any complaints but am just grateful for the great work Givedirectly did.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
With the second transfer, we had a plan of buying a dairy cow since we didn't have one. We bought a heifer worth Kshs.40,000 which will calf in four months and hoping to get adequate milk for consumption and we can sell the surplus to earn an extra income. With the remaining amount, we cleared school fees for our three secondary school children.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($500 USD)
access_time 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was a great moment for me when I received my first transfer. I was home alone when I received a notification message on my phone and an immediate check, it was a shock to me that I had received such a huge amount. I could not control my joy but had to first thank God for answering our prayers as we had been undergoing a lot of financial challenges. I called my husband who was already out to his usual casual work, and he too was glad to receive the news. For the better part of that day, excitement overrun my daily schedule as I even forgot to get the lunch ready for my children who were coming out of school at noon.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
After the subdivision and allocation of the whole received amount to different projects, I am glad that everything went as we had planned before receiving it. We have registered a lot of changes that are all geared toward improving our living standards before long. Owning a cow on my field has been the biggest difference so far as it has been giving me hope of producing enough milk for our household use, and in case of surplus production, I will be selling to my neighbors whenever they are in need. This will be an additional source of income to my household as it will be sorting other household needs that we had been struggling to meet.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
With a relatively larger family of seven, it has been so hard buying every household utility enough for everyone. For the past years, I had been spending a lot on milk from the neighborhood since I have never had a cow of my own. On receiving the first transfer, pinching part of it to use in obtaining a heifer was inevitable. After days of scouting the breeds at the nearby market, I finally landed on a good one worth KES 20000. I was glad to learn that it was in the midst of its gestation period having barely 3 months left before calving down. I was also torn between renovating the old house I had been using but we agreed with my husband to start planning the construction of a new one. So far we have been able to obtain 96 timber and some building posts that cost approximately KES 20000 of the remaining amount. We are currently looking forward to the next transfer to make iron sheets purchase and initiate the construction work. Out of my 5 children, two of them are currently in their final year in secondary school. School fees clearance has been mandatory to enable them to settle down and get ample time to prepare for their final paper. I had to spend the remaining KES 14000 on clearing their school fees, and currently, they have settled and working their way hard in their studies.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I have always wanted to build a decent house for my family. The one I currently have is small one bedroom house , and doesn't fit my children to sleep and study. The 2 teenage girls sleep in the kitchen (a separate house ) ,and I feel this is insecure for them.Receiving this money means that I will be able to expand the current house (200usd) as the children will get some place to study and to rest as well.I will spend (500usd) of the transfers on purchasing a dairy cow for I currently buy milk (0.3usd a litre) per day which is way costly. Furthermore, the milk will be used for the household and the rest sold to feed my family.The rest of the transfers will be used to educate my 4 children.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I am a casual laborer who solely depend on wages to feed my family.I use what I earn to purchase milk to make tea for breakfast ,this puts a smile on the faces of my children as I love to see them happy.Therefore morning makes my happiest part of the day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Building additional rooms to my current house has been my biggest hardship.My girls sleep in the kitchen, (a separate house) , and this is insecure for them.Furthermore,the soot isn't favourable environment for their day to day study.With the rampant cases of rape and teenage pregnancy, they might fall victims sometime and there dreams will be cut short.This will be a burden to me.