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 ($462 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 do not have new goals at the moment. I still have children in school and that is why I cannot think of other developments since I am still struggling with their school fee payment and buying food for them. I have one child in University, three in secondary school, and there is one who recently completed his primary school studies and is to join secondary school in the next academic year. Life has thus not been easy for us. I am the breadwinner of the family and I usually go out to do casual work at a large scale farm which is near our home. We usually get paid after every two weeks. The money that I get most of it usually goes to school fees payment and to purchase food.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly did well because they did not leave out anyone who belonged to the village. Everyone got the transfers and they were able to change their lives for the better. Most of them had grass-thatched houses and they were able to build iron-roofed houses. The face of the village has thus changed. I do not see anything that they did wrong.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent most of my recent transfer on paying school fees for my children. I subdivided it among them. I am glad that the one who is in the university was able to sit for his exams. The ones in secondary school despite not being able to fully clear their school fees were also not sent home. With the remaining transfer amount which was about KES 7000, I used it in buying two bags of maize for our consumption. The maize has sustained us for a while and I have not stressed about what my family is to eat. I have also incurred less costs on food. I am thus so much grateful to GiveDirectly for their support.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($494 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I spend most of my days doing casual labour to earn a living. On this Thursday, I was going about my daily duties when at 9 a.m, I received a message. It indicated that I had received KES 55,000 from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy to receive such a huge amount of money that would improve my family's standard of living.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
I feel so blessed to have received this cash transfer. I am a casual labourer, who earns KES 500 a day if I'm lucky to find work. I couldn't afford to provide the basic needs of food, clothing and education for all seven of us. This situation caused me a lot of mental anguish as a parent. But receiving this transfer has changed all of that. I am especially happy that two of my children who are still in school have a chance to learn without the constant interruption of being sent home for lack of school fees.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We have always had to buy milk, at KES 35 a litre, every day. This is costly for us because I depend on casual labour to earn a living, which is rare to find. So I was happy to spend KES 30,000 on buying a dowry cow that can supply enough milk for the seven of us. I also spent KES on paying for school fees for two of my children who are in secondary school, so that they can stay in school. I spent the remaining amount on buying maize, to ensure we had sufficient food.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money will mean water security for my family. We live in an arid area and it doesn't rain often. I have 5 children living with me while one has his own family. Because they are in Scholl it means my wife has to go fetch water to be used at home at a local stream. The stream is about 5km from our home and the terrain is hilly. She has to do this everyday and it's exhausting to her, that is why this money will help us in purchasing a big water tank worth KES 20,000. The water tank will be used to store rain water collected from our iron roofed house when it rains, the water can also be fetched just once in a week, stored to be used for a whole week. This will save us from walking for a distance everyday to collect it. The remaining amount of the transfer I'll use to pay school fees for my children and buy a dairy cow and 2 goats that will serve as future investments.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is in the evening, this is because after working the whole day I get paid for my labour and my family gets to have food on the table.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I have faced is unemployment. Before COVID 19 I was employed to work in a farm that acted as a hotel for tourists in Narok, but most of us were had to go home because the pandemic affected tourism. Though the job was only paying KES 15,000 per month it would help in sustaining my family's needs.But now I have to look for jobs every now and then with a likelihood of not finding any in a month. I am not able to pay school fees for my children consistently nor provide other basic needs such as food, clothing and clean water for our use.
