GiveDirectly: Send money directly to the extreme poor

2nd Payment

Transfer Amount

55000 KES ($535 USD)

over 4 years ago

How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?

Mg life us different from how it would have been had I not received the transfer. This us because I was able to complete building a spacious and permanent house for my family within three months. I believe that it would have taken me more time had it not have been for GiveDirectly.

In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?

In my own opinion, GiveDirectly did well by enrolling everyone without any discrimination and I do not see anything that they did not do well.

What did you spend your second transfer on?

When I received my second transfer, I spent a good amount to continue building a permanent house for my family. I spent the remaining KES 20000 to buy a heifer for rearing. This is an asset that I can lean on in case of financial challenges

Initial Payment

Transfer Amount

55000 KES ($533 USD)

5 years ago

Describe the biggest difference in your daily life.

I have been hoping to build a nice and decent house to live in for long but due to the financial constraints I was facing, I could not fulfill this. My income I raise per day was not enough to cater for both household daily needs and construction of a new house. With GiveDirectly transfer, I managed to buy building materials which include iron sheets, cement, sand, gravel and bricks for this purpose. I am excited that I have completed my new house. I currently enjoy peace of mind since I no longer worry about how I will build a permanent house anymore. This is a goal that has given me the biggest difference in my daily life.

Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?

I realized that GiveDirectly had sent me money in the morning after one of my children asked if I had also received mine. I then requested him to help me check my Mpesa balance and to my surprise, the money was already in my account. I felt so happy knowing that I would be able to build a decent permanent house that I had wished for long.

What did you spend your first transfer on?

I bought a heifer worth KES 10000 for rearing using part of my first transfers. I decided on this since I saw it as an asset that will always remind me of GiveDirectly as it helps me meet household needs through milk production. Also, I built myself a decent and spacious permanent house after topping up some amount. I bought iron sheets, cement, sand, gravel and bricks. I settled on this so that it would relieve me of the struggles of requesting my children to help me in applying mud to my house regularly.

Enrolled

over 5 years ago

What does receiving this money mean to you?

Receiving this money means an additional dairy cow in my farm that will boost the income generated upon selling 4 litres of milk at ksh 30 per litre daily,produced by the aryshire cow i own. Buying bricks and iron sheets for constructing a new house is also part of my plans. As per now the savings from profits i make from my wholesale shop has accumulated to some good amount hence this money has come in handy to support my wish of building a new house.

What is the happiest part of your day?

The happiest part of my day is in the morning whenever i wake up healthy since this gives me hopes that the activities scheduled for the day will be continue as planned

What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?

Unpredictable rainfall patterns in this area has been the biggest hardship i face. Farming has become undependable as compared to 10 years ago whereby we used to get quality and plenty harvest which ensured i never struggled in fulfilling the needs of my family. I have ended up selling part of my land and livestock to pay school fees for my children who are studying at the university. This therefore means initiating bigger and income generating projects is a great challenge