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 ($418 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Despite the scorching sun since the beginning of the year, I am still hopeful that the rain will allow me to return to farming. Farming is always the main activity that we focus on every year as a source of income to ensure that we not only have enough food but also surplus produce to sell. We had been purchasing expensive food, and our hope of planting and producing our own will be realized only if we receive sufficient rainfall.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly did an excellent job in the village by providing us with the opportunity to improve our living conditions. Support in the form of cash was the best idea anyone could have come up with because we got to choose how we spent it. I appreciate that all of the GiveDirectly staff were patient enough to take their time explaining the program to us before and after we received the transfers. I would wish that the same experience would be felt by all other villages so that we could grow together and transform our families.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Providing for my family of five has been difficult, especially during this drought season when all farm produce has been burned. We had been buying food from the market and milk from the village, both of which were very expensive. When I received the second transfer, I felt relieved. To reduce my daily milk purchases using at least $2, I spent $500 on a lactating dairy cow that produced enough milk for my family and a surplus to sell, giving us a daily income of at least $3. I then used the rest of the money to buy food for my family, which I am glad we did throughout the month.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($466 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I became so happy the moment I received money from GiveDirectly. It is my helper who informed me that I had received the money since I could not read and comprehend any message myself. I got so happy that finally I was going to be able to accomplish the things I had always yearned for.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the dairy cow that I bought. I had not been able to raise enough money to buy a dairy cow since the amount of money that I got from my casual work was hardly enough to enable us make ends meet. I had sold all the livestock that I had to treat my children who fell ill and I was left with none. I feel so much happy to have benefitted from this program and feel so much happy to now own a dairy cow. This to me is the biggest difference in my daily life.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used KES 35000 to buy a dairy cow and used another KES 4500 to buy a chicken wire that will see me start practicing poultry keeping. I used the remaining amount to buy other basic household commodities such as food for the family. I had for a long time wanted to own a dairy but the amount of income that I got from my casual work was hardly enough to even buy food. I feel so much indebted to GiveDirectly for enabling me realize this dream.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
At the moment, we don't have a cow of our own. We purchase milk from our neighbors for KES 1500 a month which is very costly considering we are peasant farmers. We solely depend on farm produce for food and income, which is not sustainable because of poor rainfall and long periods of drought. We plan to use KES 30,000 to purchase one dairy cow purposely for local milk production. For the rest of the money, we plan to renovate our existing mud house. We are getting old, I'm unable to smear our house which needs to be smeared every week. This will reduce our workload.
What is the happiest part of your day?
A month ago, we harvested half a bag of maize. It made us happy as for a month or more we will not be purchasing maize. The money that could have been used, I can use to meet other needs like medication for my husband. This is quite a happy time for us.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The main challenge is food insecurity. We have a small piece of farm, with most of the periods throughout the year being dry. We hardly harvest maize ( which is our staple food) that can last us a year. Most of the time, we purchase from the market costing KES 100 per day. It is very costly for us, as sometimes we go without dinner for lack of money. My husband has been unwell for some time now, so he cannot work and needs a lot of attention and financial expenses.
