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
55000 KES ($456 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?
At the moment, I am operating a small boutique where I sell secondhand clothes to the immediate community. I have been saving from the daily profit I make and hoping to start the construction of a new house for my family of four and an extra room for my visitors. Even though the business is not at its best currently, I hope the slow savings since I have no other source of income will soon be sufficient.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly's project was universal and served everyone within our village boundaries. The staff who enrolled us were all good and always willing to educate everyone before enrollment. The knowledge we got ensured the safety of our money and we hardly find anyone defrauded. Everything was well done and no one dare complain, but grateful for the generous support we got.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Upon receiving the second transfer, I had a lot lined up that my household had set to complete before exhausting the entire amount. I had a piece of land to plough and also obtained farm inputs at KES 6500. Buying foodstuff has been very expensive and farming has the cheapest way to feed my family. I also spent KES 10200 on fencing around the farm to protect the crops from livestock, constructed a wooded bathroom worth KES 4800 for my family. I also bought foodstuff worth KES 13600, enough for my family of four, paid for the county government water piping that I am now enjoying at my doorstep at KES 8000, and saved the remaining amount with a plan to still fence around my compound. We have changed a lot in our family because of the support we received from GiveDirectly.
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 felt so happy the moment I received money from GiveDirectly. I was in my shop that day and i heard my phone ring and upon checking I found out that it was GiveDirectly that had sent money to me. I stayed calm since I was aware that I would receive money from GiveDirectly as I thought of how I was going to spend the money received.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the fact that I now have more assets with me than before. I have had peace of my mind and feel more happy that I have accomplished the things I could only wish for before. The water tank that I bought with the tank has been a game changer and has seen me solve many problems . I feel so much happy to have accomplished this and this has been the greatest difference in my daily life thus far.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used KES 27000 to buy a water tank paid school fees of KES 6500. I used another KES 4500 to build a rather simple poultry house . The remaining amount of money was used to buy other basic household needs like food and clothes for my family. I made a decision to buy a water tank since I had a serious need for one. I did not have a huge container that would collect enough water for use in our household as well as for the cows. I would not concentrate in my clothes selling business as I had to always keep thinking about where and how my cows would get enough drinking water. I had not been able to accomplish all these since the amount of income that I got from my shop keeping business would just be enough to pay school fees for my children.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means that I will expand my business. I have a shop where I sell items like blankets and clothes. As the business is quite small, I own about KES 200 per day which is only enough for food in the household with nothing to save or grow the business. I will use about KES 50,000 to buy more stock and make about KES 600 per day as a profit. I will then buy food for the household with about KES 10,000 and pay children's school fees of about KES 20,000.
What is the happiest part of your day?
In the last siz months, I am happy that I planted maize that coincided with the April long rains. This amount of rainfall is sufficient to produce enough maize that will last us about 6 months. l. I look forward to harvesting maize in the next four months which gives me hope that I shall struggle to provide food.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Finding clean water for use in the household is very difficult here. Even though we occasionally get piped water from a government water project, its chlorine content used in treating it is too high for consumption in my view. I a concerned that drinking the water may cause some diseases. I need a water tank that I will use to collect and store rainwater with a capacity, of 3500 litres. This amount of water will be enough for my use at home.
