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.
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2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($435 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?
In the coming year and beyond I will be starting a small business of selling second hand shoes for the ladies. Ladies tend to buy their items on a daily basis as compared to men. Having this in mind will assist my family to have a long term solution for educating my young ones who are still in Primary school.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, what GiveDirectly does well in this program is that we receive the transfers in lumpsum amounts. This helps in planning as one is in a position to do something huge as compared to when the transfers are given in small instalments.
Another thing that GiveDirectly does well is that the unlearned recipients are taught how to use mpesa. This has reduced the number of theft cases in the community as most of us managed to change our pins to a more secure code.
What needs to be done differently is enrolling all the individuals in the household to avoid household conflict. During enrollment, those individuals who did not have responsibilities by then were left out of the program yet these are the same people who steal from their old and vulnerable parents.
Another thing that needs to be done differently is enrolling all the communities in a specific village for uniformity purposes and this will prevent too many complaints coming from the communities that are left out during the registration to the programs.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Before I was enrolled in the program, I never had furniture in my house. I used to fear hosting friends in my family as they could misjudge me why I never had furniture. I used my transfers of kshs 25,000 to buy a five seater seats. This has boosted my self esteem and everytime I wish to host my friends just to confirm to them the type of changes I had been experiencing due to the transfers I received . I used the remaining part of transfers of kshs 25000 to buy female cow for milk production to be used for consumption and sale.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($485 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 at night and we had retired to bed. We were however not yet asleep since we were eagerly waiting for the promised transfer. Some of the people in the community had received the transfers in the evening and hence we had hopes that we were also going to receive the same before the day ends. As a result of this, I kept on anxiously checking on my phone for any new message. At around midnight, my phone rang hence notifying me of a new message, I decided to check it and I could not believe my eyes when I read the SMS which was saying that we had received KES 55000 from GiveDirectly. I was extremely happy on seeing this that I immediately informed my wife of the good news. She woke up so happy and we gave thanks to God for the blessing.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The transfer has brought a very big difference in my life and that of my family. My mind has relaxed a little bit, free from thoughts about where I am going to get the money to pay school fees. This is because I was able to clear the school fees balances for my two children who are in secondary school. They hence no longer have to worry about being sent home due to arrears for the rest of the academic year.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We spent the transfer money on various things. We bought a cow at KES 35000. We also took KES 15000 and paid school fees for our two children who are in secondary school. Apart from that, we also bought beddings, clothes, and food with the remaining amount of money. Buying a cow and paying school fees was our biggest aim when we got the transfer. We wanted to buy a cow because we wanted something that was going to be our source of income in future and hence help us in payment of school fees for our children. We also still had quite a huge sum of money that we had to pay as school fees. I usually engage in doing casual jobs to earn a living. The money that I get paid most of it usually goes to the purchase of basic needs such as food and some I usually give out as my contribution to a self-help group that I have joined. The money that I get when it reaches my turn to receive the contributions from the group, is what I usually use in paying school fees for my children which unfortunately I was not able to complete paying. I am now hopeful that in the future, that is, coming May this year when another academic year begins, I will be able to pay the school fees at ease since the cow that I bought is about to calve. We will be able to get milk that we can sell and earn some better income. Apart from this, we will have cut down the cost of purchasing milk for our consumption as a family. We are hence so much grateful to GiveDirectly because our lives changed for the better.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means an improved health condition for me and paid school fees for my children. Three years ago when I was still working in a nearby town, I was involved in an accident where I got electrocuted. I remember the fateful afternoon that would change my life for good so vividly. The main power line supplying that town had a fault and as I was passing by a pool of water by the roadside near the power line, I stepped on the water and suddenly I was shocked and immediately went into a comma. If it were not for the Kenya Power emergency team who were not far from the scene when the accident happened, I would have died. I stayed in the intensive care unit for 2 months and was discharged. This was however followed by endless trips to the hospital again for physiotherapy sessions since my legs were seriously injured and am still going for the same. My family of 9 was seriously affected by this ordeal since I was the breadwinner. My two elderly children dropped out of school to look for casual jobs to feed us and take their siblings to school. I am forever indebted to them for their sacrifice. We also sold all the livestock that we had and part of our land to settle the hospital bill which had risen to KES. 250,000. We would like to express our gratitude to GiveDirectly for this gift. It will help me attend the few remaining physiotherapy sessions and pay school fees for our children who are still in school. The other 2 who dropped out of school will also focus on going for vocational training.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Over the last six months, I have not done so much because I have been recovering at home and attending physiotherapy sessions mostly. One thing that has however stood out is the continuous improvement of my condition. At the beginning of the year, I could not even move a distance of 100m but last month I walked a distance of 5km without much difficulty and this gave me a lot of happiness since it gave me hope that I might one day be able to be as I was before.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I am currently still trying to adjust to the effects of the electrocution accident, it's not easy at all because I was an all-round person and strong. I cannot even go back to the job I had since it needs strength which I no longer have. The unpaid school fees is also worrying to me because soon my children's studies will be interrupted.
