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.
Learn more about how recipients opt in to share their stories.
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($421 USD)
access_time almost 2 years ago
check
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I have been struggling with perennial food since I had nothing to buy farm inputs and cultivate crops. My focus now is to use part of my savings to farm and produce more food for my family of four. I will also consider planting crops that last three months to help us have a constant supply of food
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
My life is never the same again. I am excited that I am living in a better and cemented house. GiveDirectly's cash transfer program has changed our lives in the village. We are now living in iron sheet-roofed houses. We are faced with many unending problems, we will be happy if GiveDirectly will remember us with another project.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We are using water from the stream for domestic use. I used to go for about 2 kilometers to fetch water which was quite a distance. With my old age, I was struggling to carry water with me back home. I decided to spend KES 25000 of my second transfer to buy 3000 liters of the plastic water tank. This enabled me to harvest rainwater and would last me up to three months without experiencing water shortage. I used the remaining money to buy food and complete constructing my new house.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($466 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
attach_money
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I was thankful when I received the first transfer from GiveDirectly. It was around 5:00 PM and everyone within the village had just received the same information. I was with my family then and could not collect the money on the same day but visited a nearby shopping center where I withdrew all the amount the following day.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the appreciable change and improvement in our living standards. I am currently enjoying a lot that I never had that are all attributed to GiveDirectly.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I had been buying milk for the past two years for my family of three and ha been a relief that after receiving the first transfer; I purchased a lactating dairy cow with a calf at KES 40000. I am glad that we now have a plentiful supply of milk for my household and no longer spend even a cent on buying. I also spent KES 3200 on the farm preparation and purchasing of the farm inputs that I have already planted and in addition spent the remaining amount on buying foodstuff for my family of three.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money would mean diversification of my farming practices to increase my income sources. I have come to learn that as a farmer I should not depend only in one crop to earn an income. Initially we would depend solely on maize production which started failing 6 years ago due to emerging crop diseases. We incurred a lot of losses and sank into poverty while food insecurity also set in. We have since tried to grow other food crops but in a very small scale. With your transfers I would like to venture into banana, cassava and sweet potato farming. This will be unique because none of the farmers around here has tried this. It will be able to earn me more income as well as ensuring that am food secure in my household.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My children surprised me in February when they came and renovated for us the house. It gave me happiness because the house looked so new after the makeover.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I have remained food insecure since the time maize growing failed in this place. I have had to endure difficult moments when I would eat only once a day or go without food. My income remains strained because I can no longer harvest maize which I can sell the surplus. The only way I think could make my life improve is to try other crops which again I do not have the financial ability to start off.
