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
55000 KES ($457 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?
My new goal now is to renovate my house to look decent. I wish to save money from my small business retail shop and buy some of the building materials. This is what I am looking forward to completing soon.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
Giving money to the poor in the community to build better houses and start businesses is what GiveDirectly does well. Most people invested their money well and this changed their living standards. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spend KES 10,000 on adding stock to our retail shop. I am so happy because I currently can meet the demand of my customers. The stock had gone down because we depend on this to meet all the basic needs of the family. The profits that I get now are much higher compared to earlier days. I can meet all the basic household needs without struggling. The remaining amount of money I spend on purchasing building materials and building a better kitchen house. I had small grass thatched kitchen and it was so old. I had always wished to own a better house but I did not have the money to start the construction process. Currently, I have a decent and spacious house and this had made me feel happy. GiveDirectly has changed our living standard to be much better than before.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($484 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I still remember that an officer called me on that day inquiring about the information that I was given during the census stage. After some time, I heard a message alert and on reading it, my heart was filled with joy as it was a Mpesa message indicating that I had received the promised funds. The transfer came as a surprise to me since despite knowing that GiveDirectly would fulfill their promise, I never knew that it would be immediately.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
I went to purchase some materials that I would use in constructing a stand for the water tank immediately after receiving the transfer since I had already planned on how I would spend the entire amount. After a week, I went and purchased the water tank and it rained after two days. I can confidently say that GiveDirectlys transfers were timely since I have never gone to the river to fetch water for the last 35 days. In addition, I have been able to do cleanliness whenever I feel like and we also have clean water at our doorstep all the time. This has made my daily life different since apart from my children wearing clean clothes all the time, I no longer get tired of going to the river to fetch water daily.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
When I received my transfer, I spent KES 42000 to purchase a water tank with a capacity of 42000 liters and to construct its stand. We decided on this so that we can be using it to harvest rainwater for domestic use. I am glad that I will no longer be going to the river to fetch water during the rainy season. In addition to this, I spent KES 8000 to buy a cupboard that I will be using to keep my utensils safe and used the remaining KES 4000 on foodstuffs.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Our area has no available and clean water because of the nature of our soil that does not favor water retention. We cannot dig boreholes, or if we dig, they cannot last, and therefore we are forced to fetch water from the nearby river. Receiving this money will enable me to buy a water tank that will enable me to harvest and store rainwater. This will reduce the trips that I make to fetch water and the water quality is far much better than the one that we fetch from the river. I plan on repairing my leaking kitchen roof with the money from the second transfer together with completing my main house.
What is the happiest part of your day?
We have had constant and sufficient rain for the last six months that has enabled us to farm and harvest rainwater that we have been able to use. This has cut down on the time that I spend fetching water and the exhaustion of fetching water has reduced and that has made me happy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The main challenge that I am facing currently is financial constraints. I am the sole provider of my family because my husband is epileptic, requires constant medical care, and cannot do hard jobs. Proving for my family with the little that I earn from selling my farm produce and doing casual jobs is a challenge to me.
