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 ($442 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
If I say that I don't have a goal, I will surely be lying. I have many goals but I am yet to achieve them, though the only limitations are funds. I would wish to build a good house for my children but money is the key hindrance at the moment.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly has indeed lifted our lives amazingly. I was able to comfortably pay school fees for my children. So far I have not witnessed any form of inefficiency.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
School fees have been my major worry in my life. I am a mother of eight children and raising their fees has been a headache that I have been dealing with. This is because I depend on casual jobs to earn a livelihood and the wages are very little to sustain our basic needs. Therefore, I paid school fees of KES 23,000 for my children. Secondly, I paid back a debt that had accumulated for a while where I used KES 11,000. I feel relieved that a heavy burden was lifted off my shoulder and that my children are all in school.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($484 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The moment I received my first transfer, I felt so excited because I had been longing to build a new house. The transfer were sent to me late in the evening at around 6.00pm. By then I was at the nearby center because I had gone to buy some sugar for my family. I felt so happy and honored since that was the highest amount of money I had ever received in my lifetime.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest differsnce in my life is being able to pay off school fee arrears for my daughter who is in High school. She currently studies comfortably without being sent back home for school fee. In addition, I am in the process of building a house for my three sons so that they can be able to spend in a separate room from their sisters. This will help them to study better without being overcrowded in one place. I thank GiveDirectly for the milestones my family has courtesy of the transfer.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent my recent transfer to initiate the process of building a house for my 3 sons. This costed a total KES 16,000. I planned to build a house for the sons because they had previously been spending in the kitchen with their sisters who are now in their teenage. I also spent part of the transfer of KES 15,000 to pay off school fees for my daughter who is currently in High School. I have hope in her that she will succeed in life and be able to support her younger brothers. Lastly, I bought some food as well as repaying a dowery of KES 10,000. This has improved my relationship with my wife. I am glad that currently I live a better life and free from financial stress.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
As a parent, seeing one of my children drop out of college due to a lack of funds has stressed me a lot. She was pursuing a Food and Beverage course that could take two years to be completed. Unfortunately, she dropped after only six no the of study. As such, receiving this money means she will go back to college and continue pursuing her dream course. She had arrears of about KES 27000. Hence, I will use approximately KES 50000 to pay off the arrears and fees for the next term. Besides, I will utilize about KES 20000 of the transfer on building a sleeping house for my two adolescent sons who have been sleeping at a neighbor's place. I feel that their safety and security are compromised when they do so. Any remaining amount shall be used to acquire more food stock since we have depleted what we had.
What is the happiest part of your day?
When my third-born child excelled in her primary education and was due to join secondary school, I was worried about where and how to attain the needed fees. Luckily, I was asked by a nearby day-secondary school to handle some casual jobs within the school so that my wages would be used as fees. This has brought me and my family a lot of relief.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Currently, we are facing a shortage of food due to tropical diseases and unfavorable climatic conditions that are destroying our crops. I attribute these challenges to climate change because they were not there some years ago. Also, we have only one cow that gets us little milk that cannot satisfy my family of 7 when consumed. Also, the acute absence of funds in my family is a big challenge as evidenced by our incapacity to raise school fees or build a sleeping house for our children.
