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.
Learn more about how recipients opt in to share their stories.
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2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($463 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?
I am grateful for the transformation that I have encountered in my household after receiving both transfers. Currently, I am focusing on my business of selling sheep which has supported me in sorting part of my household bills. I do not have any new goals.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, Givedirectly did well by giving unconditional cash transfers to every household. It gave everyone a chance to invest in what they needed most. I have never heard any complaints from anyone in my village.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
On receiving the second transfer, I bought a dairy cow worth KES 37,000. This was going to be an addition to my livestock. I appreciate that we currently get two liters of milk after one of the dairy cows I normally depend on stopped producing milk. With the remaining part of my transfer of KES 16,000,I used to add more sheep to my business for selling.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($485 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 late in the night when I was just about to retire to bed. I heard my phone ring and on taking it out to check who the message was from, I realized I had just been sent the KES 55000 that I had been promised by GiveDirectly officers. I felt happy and sad at the same time. Happy because I had received the money as promised and sad because I was going to use the money to buy x an dairy cow that would replace one that had just died among my livestock. I took the initiative of informing my wife that we had received the money and we went to check on our mother who had also received hers.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference is the dairy cow that I bought. I am happy that I was able to buy the dairy after the first that I owned succumbed to East Coast Fever. At least I have enough milk to feed the family and eagerly waiting for the next calving period where the amount of milk produced shall be higher. I am so grateful to GiveDirectly
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used KS 32000 to buy a dairy cow and used Kes 18000 to buy milk producing goats. The little remaining amount was used to buy food for my family. The money came when we had just lost one of the dairy cows that we owned to East Coast Fever and were wondering what we could do to get one that could continue supplying us with milk to feed the family. I am happy that GiveDirectly came in handy to help me and my family at the hour of need.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I grew up in abject poverty as a young boy in this village. I have not known what a good or smooth is like ever since I was born. My parents were peasant farmers and their income was not sufficient to take me and my siblings to school. This contributed to the continuation of this trend of poverty from my parents to my family. My children at the moment have all dropped out of school and are out in town trying out casual jobs. This is something that saddens me a lot but I have no control over it. I am also still struggling at my age to do motorcycle business and at my age, it wearies me a lot. I get sick most of the time because of the occupational risks that come with riding a motorcycle for long. I desire to settle down and focus on livestock keeping at the moment since old age also is approaching when I will not be able to do a lot I will therefore spend these transfers to purchase livestock which will be more like a long-term investment for me. I will stay at home and manage these livestock.
What is the happiest part of your day?
There has been a challenge of crop failure here for the past ten years and despite that, we have just been trying to plant crops still. This year, what I can say is a miracle happened, I managed to harvest 300kg of maize from my farm. It sorted our food needs for 3 months and this gave me a lot of happiness because I did not spend a lot of money on buying food.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The business of motorcycle riding poses a big challenge to me at the moment. I feel like at my age it is no longer appropriate to be riding this motorcycle to earn a living. I get sick so often and most of the time I spend the little I have to seek treatment. I also took a loan early this year to purchase a cow worth KES. 30,000 but the cow died immediately so it has been a challenge repaying a loan that has not helped me at all.
