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 over 2 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
For the past one year, I have been spending a lot in order to obtain milk for my daughter who is barely 1 year old. This had made my life relatively expensive since I did no have any cow. As a result, I used to buy 1 liter of milk per day at KES 60. When I got enrolled in the GD program, I prioritized to buy a lactating cow which currently gives me 5 liters of milk every day. I am proud of GiveDirectly because courtesy of its transfers, I am nowadays able to sell a surplus of 2 littres of milk everyday. My additional goal is to complete building my new iron roofed house. This will be a very spacious house with two bedrooms. As a result, I shall no longer be worried whenever I have some guests around.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
Generally, GiveDirectly does well in promoting poverty alleviation through giving unconditional cash transfer. Personally, I have benefited through this in terms of acquiring a lactating cow as well as building a spacious two bedroomed house, the two goals which I could not accomplish without the transfer. Although it works well, it could consider revisiting all the households that benefit from the program to physically observe the impact of the cash transfers on our lives.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
For the past five years, I had been living in a single roomed house. Despite the fact that I had been desiring to build a new house, this was not easy since I did not have a stable source of infome. I had been a driver, working in a tea factory, although I lost a job 7 months ago. When I received my transfer, I bought iron sheets for building a new house. Having a spacious house will be beneficial to me since I shall be able to comfortably host my visitors. Basically, throughout my upbringing, I had learnt that showing hospitality to any guest is very key in life.
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?
It was about 2 a.m when I heard my phone vibrating. When I checked, it was a receipt of cash transfer from Give directly. I was super happy and lost sleep and immediately woke my wife to inform her about the great news. She was so excited and we couldn't wait to initiate the goals that we had already planned.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the relief of too much expenditure on milk daily. Am happy that I can now save the little I get from the manual jobs I do so that I can start on a long-term project that will enable me to cater to family bills.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I had been buying milk for the longest time since I didn't have a cow of my own. Upon receiving my first transfer, I spent Kshs.35,000 in purchasing a dairy cow which we currently milk a liter per day. I am happy that the money I get from the daily manual jobs I do helps me in buying other household items. I also purchased two sacs of maize at a cost of Ksh.5,000.The maize can sustain us for the better part of the year as we wait for the next season of harvest. With the remaining amount, I spent on buying clothes and other household items for my three family members.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means freedom from regular purchasing of milk for my family. I have been blessed with a family of three and my firstborn child is 8 months old. A large percentage of food taken by my child is dependent on milk products and so I have to ensure milk is there regularly. I have no dairy cattle at the moment and so I buy 1.5 litres daily for KES 75. I am a casual laborer doing farm work on other people's farms and averaging a payment of KES 250 a day. I intend to buy a dairy cattle for KES 40000 to supplement my family with milk. As for the remaining balance of the transfer, I will build a decent house and furnish it with household items.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My wife joined a merry-go-round women empowerment revolving fund project five months ago. She deposits KES 200 every week and she will be a beneficiary early next year. Together with what Givedirectly is offering us, we are very optimistic about the future. We feel like next year will be our year of economical transformation.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I used to be a truck driver but lost the job when the truck broke down and the owner was unable to service it. After 1 year of job hunting with no success, I decided to come back home with my family to cut on expenses associated with living in urban centers. I resolved to start carrying out casual jobs like doing farm work on other people's farms to fend for my family. I usually get an average of KES 250 per day and this amount is inadequate to exhaustively cater for our basic needs.
