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 2 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Our new goal is to buy a piece of land. We plan to buy half an acre. We want to buy it because the piece of land that we have at the moment is small and there is nowhere to cultivate it. We plan to sell some calves that we have and add the money that we will get to some of the savings that we have so that we can buy the piece of land.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly did well by moving from one house to another in the village and enrolling people at their houses. Most people hence got a chance to benefit from the program because it is through being visited that the GiveDirectly staff got the real truth. Everything that they did is good and hence I do not see anything that they need to change.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We spent the second transfer on buying a cow and paying school fees. We spent KES 30000 on buying the cow and KES 10000 on paying school fees for our three children. The remaining amount of money we used in buying iron sheets for constructing the chicken house and food. We decided to buy the cow because we wanted to save some of the money through it so that we do not finish it up. The cow that we bought is about to calve and when it does so, we will get milk for sale. We have other cows and we usually depend on the milk sales to earn a living. The money from the sales we usually use most of it in paying merry-go-round contributions for the self-help groups that we are in. The lump-sum amount that we usually get from the groups when it gets to our turn to receive is what we usually use in paying school fees for our children. We want to construct the chicken house because we have a plan to increase the number of chickens that we are rearing. The chickens usually help us in getting money through the sale of eggs. The money that we get usually helps us in buying some essential household goods such as sugar, tea leaves, soap, etc. We were also able to clear school fees for the children. We are thus happy because we no longer owe anyone any debt. Thank you so much GiveDirectly for the support.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($491 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was around 10a.m when I received a notification message from Give directly.I was home alone and upon confirming this great news,I immediately called my husband who was away on his daily manual jobs and informed him and he was equally excited.I sent him the money so that he could withdraw on his way home.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is acquisition of a dairy cow since we use to purchase from my neighbour of which at times we could not get especially during drought season.I am glad that we have one that can supply us with adequate milk hence cutting the daily expense of milk.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Upon receipt of my first transfer, I dedicated Kshs.30,000 to purchase a dairy cow.For the longest time we had been buying milk which costed Kshs.40 per litre which could not sustain my family of five.Am now happy that it will give us enough milk for household usage.With Kshs.5,500 I bought a barbed wire to fence my compound since animals could easily destroy my vegetables. With the remaining amount, I used to buy clothing for all family members and also purchased food that could sustain us for a couple of months.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Livestock keeping is a major source of livelihoods here . Maize crops no longer do well because of the maize disease. So our mainstay is livestock keeping . I intend to purchase 3 dairy cows ,it will boost my productivity of milk with a view of selling for cash. That is the only way I will feed my family and get extra income for development. The 3 dairy cows will cost me approximately KES 90000.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I am a house wife ,I engaged mostly in household chores and taking care of cows and goats. My happiest part of the day is in the afternoon when I am done with the chores. I get time to relax and rest and that give me pleasure.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
As I had mentioned to you ,maize production has been a problem because of the maize disease. We are left with no choice but to purchase with the meagre income my husband gets working as a casual labourer at a nearby farm where he works as an irrigation pump operator. That is the main issue here,we are food insecure. The cost of 2kg maize is KES 100 ,which to us is expensive ,it suffices only for a day.
