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 ($442 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?
Our new goal is to improve my poultry keeping project. Right now we collect up to 20 eggs per day from the 30 birds that we have. Our target is to have 70 birds and this will definitely increase egg production per day. The cost of one egg is currently KES 15. This will be a game changer for is and we cannot wait to have it implemented. It is going to be quite easy for us to do this considering that we only have to hatch eggs produced by the current stock.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion GiveDirectly did very well by giving support in form of cash and also by not giving us conditions on how we could spend the money. We felt the actual empowerment when we were given the freedom to choose how to spend the money.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used Kes 30000 to build a poultry house and used the remaining amount to buy poultry and food for my family. Poultry keeping has been a project that I have always wanted to implement but due to scarcity of resources I have not been able to implement it. I am extremely happy because out of the 30 chicken that I own, I collect not less than 60 eggs per week and the income from this has just been of great benefit to us. I have offered a helping hand to my husband who works as a casual labourer to make ends meet and this has made our life very interesting and much more affordable.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($481 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was a few minutes past 5 pm and I was at home relaxing when I heard my phone ring. I became curious and decided to check and know who would have sent me an SMS. That's when I saw the message that I had received KES 55,000 from GiveDirectly. I was so happy to receive money that could help me provide for my family's needs.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Since receiving this transfer, our lives as a family have transformed for the better. Before, I struggled to provide the basic needs of food and clothing for my family. This cash transfer made it possible for us to buy a dairy cow that supplies us with enough milk. In addition, we also bought enough food that will still last my family for some weeks. We are grateful to GiveDirectly for making it possible for us to have at least three meals a day.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used KES 35000 of my transfer to buy a dairy cow and used the remaining amount on clothes, beddings to replace the old ones that we were using, some utensils, and food for the family. The heavy investment in livestock is because we highly depend on livestock to earn a living here and I could not buy them initially since I did not have enough money from the casual work that I do. Because of this, we had to always spend KES 40 daily on a liter of milk and this was only enough to make tea. We are so grateful to GiveDirectly for enabling us to realize this.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I got married in the year 2019 and since then I have had a fair share of challenges, financial instability being the main one. I am a casual laborer and I work in people's farms doing weeding to earn a living. These jobs are so challenging because many times my employers shout at me and this often makes me offended. I have always desired to venture into dairy farming so that I can employ myself. I plan to buy a cow with my transfer for KES 25000. This cow will produce 5-7liters of milk which I will sell at KES 40 a liter. Receiving this money will make my family financially independent
What is the happiest part of your day?
On the eve of Christmas, my husband bought me a dress and this got me by total surprise. This made me feel so happy and I cannot thank him enough for this gesture
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I have been struggling to sufficiently provide for my family's basic needs like food because I am not employed. I do not have a stable source of income and I depend on casual jobs such as going around the village smearing people's houses and my husband is a pit latrine hole digger. These jobs pay as little as KES 200 per day when you are lucky to get one. I have a two-and-a-half-year-old boy who I feel is not getting the best care at the moment. Since I can not afford to buy milk I am forced to prepare black tea and this is getting my son malnourished. The state at which we are as a family has been my biggest source of concern
