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 ($467 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Yes, I have a new goal where I want to buy a dairy cow so that I can get enough milk both for family consumption and income generating.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
What GiveDirectly does well is putting people into into a better position in society by supporting them through cash transfers.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 53000 to buy a half an acre piece of land. Previously, I had a half piece of land and I used to do farming on a quarter piece of acre because it's the same piece of land that I have build on. My desire was buy an acre but I was not in a position to raise enough money because the profit that I earning from my boutique was only enough to cater for my family needs. When I was enrolled into the program, my goal was to buy land and I was able to achieve that as I used two of my transfers to buy land. I'm happy that I will be able to harvest enough food for my family during rainy season.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($491 USD)
access_time 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I was at home taking breakfast with my wife when I received a message that confirmed the receipt of my first transfer. I was very excited to receive such a huge amount since I had been hoping to change a lot in my household. My wife was also very happy when she got the news, and since I was getting ready to leave the house to the market that day, I decided to withdraw the whole amount and planned that evening with my wife on how best we will spend.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The instant slash of the cost of buying milk after buying a good breed of a cow has brought the biggest difference in my daily life. I had been working extra hard in my daily chores but unfortunately, I could not save since I had been spending the extra coins on buying milk daily. I am glad that the cow that I bought has been providing enough milk for my family of two and also a surplus that we can sell to the neighborhood to earn some income.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
After several years of buying milk and sometimes obtaining some from my parents, the transfer I received opened a way that saw us obtain a lactating cow worth KES35000. With the family of two, we are currently enjoying enough supply of milk and even able to sell some every morning to the neighbors who have no cow yet. My wife had also been having an idea of establishing a poultry project. Since we had factored in after receiving the transfer, I had to construct a chicken coop and funded her project with KES5000 that she used in purchasing 15 indigenous breeds of chicken. The project is doing so well at the moment that she had been able to sell some eggs that have boosted her saving plan. I also injected KES15000 into my clothing business. I had been sourcing second-hand clothes from the large vending stores around and selling them at a profit in the markets I had been visiting daily. The project has given me a renewed hope of widening the profit margin as I had been dependent on it for a long time now. I also spent the remaining amount on obtaining a sack of maize at KES2700. I am glad that everything went as we had planned, and we are looking forward to the second transfer that will help us in starting other new projects.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money would mean a better business for me. I am a businessman dealing with second-hand clothes and with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic early last year, the local market where I do business was closed down for several months. I incurred loses and my business was severely affected. At some point I even thought that it would not recover. In January this year, restrictions were lifted and I resumed business. I realized that business was not as usual because everyone had been affected by this pandemic. Until now, I haven't been able to bounce back. I would therefore like to spend this money to change my business to that of buying and selling cattle, it really works because the people in this locality value cattle a lot and it florishes all year round.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I struggle a lot during the day trying to convince customers to buy my products at the end of the day am usually so tired. I usually look forward to the evening when I get to rest and it makes the evenings the happiest part of my day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship has been this time when I have been trying to pick up the pieces after the loses I made during this pandemic but nothing has so far worked. Providing for my family has been hard, paying school fees has also been a challenge.
