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.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I have always wanted to grow my farm by adding more livestock and poultry. Through the funds I have been receiving and with help of GiveDirectly I now own close to one hundred and fifty hens in my farm and I have managed to begin poultry farming like I always wanted. Now with this recent transfers I decided to begin buying livestock and so I bought one goat which cost me KES 3,000 which was the whole amount I received from GiveDirectly. Hopefully soon enough my farm will be as large as I had anticipated.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($27 USD)
access_time 3 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
The money from Give directly has made a big difference in my life, especially with my chicken project.
I can now confidently tell you that my chicken is increasing in numbers, and the project will become profitable thanks to the help and boost from Give Directly.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly does well in giving us funds directly without involving many intermediaries in between. I also commend them in their timely distribution of the funds, which helps us greatly in planning ourselves and how we will use the money.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I have a chicken rearing project that I have been rearing. The project is doing well courtesy of the money from GiveDirectly that has been helping me all through. When I received the money, I invested it into my project. I went ahead and bought chicken feeds. I spent KSH 2500 buying the Chicken feeds. The Chicken feeds are increasingly becoming expensive to buy, and the money helps me in that. I spent the remaining KSH 500 buying food for my family.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($27 USD)
access_time 3 years ago
attach_money
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I was cleaning the chicken house at around 9 am. I received the cash and I was very happy since I was thinking how and where I would get money to be able to buy feeds for the chicken. When I confirmed I had received the money I was very happy.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Life in the village is living from hand to mouth and with any cash you get you to think of how you are going to survive and not how to invest in other projects. The cash came at a time when my chicken project was almost collapsing due to a lack of money for buying animal feeds. I am grateful that my project will continue to thrive and help me in the days to come.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a passionate young farmer. I have a project that includes the rearing of indigenous chickens. The project has been helping me out in times of need. The chicken takes an average time of 6 months to mature and that’s when you can be able to sell and get money. So I had run out of cash to buy feeds for the chicken and when I received the cash I quickly went ahead and bought chicken feeds worth KSH 2500. I spent KSH 500 buying food for my family.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means self employment for me. The last time I was in a formal employment was way back in 2017. I had already lost my wife through some health related complications. I was left with a young son. I later remarried in 2018. This made me have a total of 3 children, my son and two step daughters. Fending for this family was the biggest challenge. I really struggled to provide for them. I tried planting and selling cassava but the business never picked up due the low prices of cassava. I was not making any profit. I later on decided to venture into local poultry production late last year (2020). I started keeping chicken. Once the birds mature and ready for the market, I sell them at 500 KES per kilogram. So far, I have sold one lot and I made a profit of 7,000 KES after deducting all the expenses. With this kind of profit, I never saw any need of being employed. I intend to use the money I will receive to expand this business. I will first save the money for some few months then use the amount to build a bigger chicken house which will accomodate more birds. I will also buy more birds and restock. My business will be buying chicks and sell them once they hit their maturity stage. I will also be using the subsequent transfers to buy poultry feeds and vaccines. Once the project stabilizes, I will be comfortably taking care of my family without any struggle.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is in the evening. It is in the evening that I get time to rest and relax. I spend my whole day working on my farm. Doing cultivation on my cassava crops and cleaning the poultry house.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The challenges I am currently facing is lack of funds to expand my poultry project. I currently own 70 chicken. Due to how small the poultry house is, they roam freely. Some of the chicken get stolen and some attacked by wild animals. I have been longing to build a bigger house, a semi intensive Poultry system but due to lack of funds, I have never done so.
