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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Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
20000 KES ($155 USD)
access_time 19 days ago
attach_money
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
At 5 a.m., I was woken up by the ding of a message notification, and I couldn’t help but wonder who could possibly be texting me at such an hour. When I checked my phone, I was stunned to see it was an alert—it was the money we’d been hoping for from GiveDirectly! I felt a rush of excitement and couldn’t wait to share the news. By 6 a.m., I was on the phone with my husband, who works away, and as soon as I told him, he was just as thrilled. We’d been planning to pay my daughter’s school fees, and now, finally, we could go ahead with it.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
When I received the cash transfer from GiveDirectly, it truly felt like a lifeline. The grass we’d planted was ready for harvesting, but the timing was critical — if it dried out before we harvested, all our effort would go to waste. I didn’t have the money to hire the labor I needed, and I was worried about handling it on my own. Then, the transfer came just in time. I immediately hired people to help, and we were able to harvest everything before it dried out. Without that support, I would have struggled to manage the work alone, and I was sure I’d face a big loss. But with the transfer, I was able to bring in the help I needed right away. Now, I not only saved my harvest but also saw how this one financial boost could make such a difference in my livelihood.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Our daughter is studying for her master’s degree in Nairobi, and she'd accumulated a balance of $200 in school fees. We couldn’t bear to see her education jeopardized, so we used $150 from the transfer to clear a significant portion of her arrears. Knowing that this payment would allow her to continue her studies without interruption was a huge relief. After covering her fees, we turned our focus to another opportunity. Earlier, we had planted grass, and it was time to harvest it. We decided to use the remaining amount from the transfer to pay for the labor costs involved in the harvest. It might seem small, but the work is intense, and every bit helps. With the funds from the transfer, we hired a team to help us harvest the grass efficiently and on time, ensuring we could meet the needs of buyers looking for thatching material for their homes.
Enrolled
access_time 3 months ago
What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?
Since we'd like our children to pursue their education without being sent home. We plan to sort their fees problem. An estimated $500 will go a long way in settling about a year of fees owed. It will give us peace of mind.
Water shortage is rampant here due to lack of water sources. We depend on borehole water which is about 5 kilometers away. It's difficult and we plan to buy a water tank. It will help ease the burden, we can harvest rain water or purchase water through local home delivery vendors. A water tank can cost about $100.
Grass grows well here, we plan to add more grass into our farm. Hay fetches good money and they grow faster here. It will also help us feed our livestock. Enough land is available to expand our current acreage under grass from 4 to 10 acres. The remainder of the transfer will serve this purpose. An acre of land can produce approximately 200 pieces of hay. It's sold for between $2 to $3 depending on the market availability.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Village life is good, we build a good house with my husband. I'm proud that we can host our visitors and our children have enough space to stay. We also don't pay rent which eases financial pressure on our limited income. It's a joy living here without worrying when the next rent is due.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
School fee is a big challenge for us, four of our children are ongoing with their education. Three in secondary school, and one in college. Raising fees for them is hard. We depend on my husband's police officer salary and farming. It's inadequate for our children's education. Farming is also difficult due to the long drought period and inconsistent rains. Most of the time we lose our crops. It makes it hard to invest in farming to support our income streams. Sometimes our kids are sent home because of unpaid fees areas.
