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 ($491 USD)
access_time over 3 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life is now better than it would have been if I had never received the transfer because as a house wife, I feel appreciated and valued by my husband and my friends. Before I used to financially depend on my husband since I did not have any source of income. This has not been so good to me because it is always an awkward moment to request for money for everything as this sometimes resulted to marital conflicts. When I received the money, I bowed to make a deference in my life. I decided to use the money to venture into dairy farming business. I spent almost all the transfer on this. The dairy cows give me 5-7 litres of milk every morning which I sell at our local market. giving me approximately KES 2000 per day. This has given me hope and also increased joy and happiness in my family.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly has done well by giving us the transfers. We have been able to achieve lots of things that we never thought of owning anytime soon. Those who were living in a poorly thatched house are now owning good houses, some also invested in dairy cattle, others having a business. The organization has now brought joy to us all. Therefore I do not see any part GiveDirectly has not done well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
When I got the first transfer, I invested all of it in starting a dairy farming project. I was so impressed by its performances in terms of income generation, thus this encouraged me to spend the second one on adding another cow worth KES 30000. I used the remaining amount to clear a debt I had and repairing a motorbike that my husband (a teacher) usually uses as means of transport to his workplace.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($513 USD)
access_time over 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The thought of seeing our livelihood improved had always been a dream until when we received the first transfer. This came to us as a shock since it has never happened to any member of our household. This brought a great feeling to our family, strengthened the bonds, and at least gave us a reason to once again share a common planning table with my husband after several differences brought about inadequate finances before.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in our daily lives since we started receiving the transfers is the instant improvement in our living standard. We are already reaping proceeds from the milk sale ad also the egg collection from the few layers we obtained. These two have seen us comfortably managed most of the daily household bills, and we are hopeful that we will soon be expanding.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
With the anticipation we had after being enrolled in this program, we had a lot of plans and full of hope that we will accomplish the two transfers. On receiving the first one, we decided to spend the first 35000KES on obtaining a lactating breed of a cow since we have been in a dire need of milk both for our domestic and commercial use in case of surplus production. We spent 5000 KES on buying a Dorper sheep, obtained 10 layers, clothing for every household member, and also foodstuff for our with the remaining amount. Investing in livestock farming was the easiest way to generate income since we already have wider fields and marketing their products is also cheaper.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means a lot to me. My household depends on my husband's teaching income which is not a lot. We only have one child of our own and my aunt's daughter who stays with me because she studies at a nearby school. Our house is very small and can not accommodate all of us especially once I get to have more children in future. So if I receive this money I will be able to extend my house, build more bedrooms as well as expand the sitting area for whenever we have guests. I will also use it to start poultry farming and buy one milk producing cow to sell because it has good profits. For poultry I will get broiler chickens and sell the eggs for additional income.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Each morning I wake at 6am, I prepare breakfast for my family, then milk ours cows which I use for the next day. Then I go to the farm till lunch time to prepare lunch and do some cleaning then rest in the afternoon. I am happiest in the afternoon because that is when I get to relax and do some thinking of my own.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My biggest hardship has been unemployment. I have applied for so many accounting jobs especially in schools around here but I haven't been able to be called for any. I would love to support my husband by chipping in an income. Being self employed is also hard in my area because there is lack of capital to start a business. Because of the unpredictable climate of my location one has to really be sure if the exact business to have because sometimes there is flood because of a near by seasonal river and other times there is drought making it hard to predict what type of farming to embrace.
