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 ($494 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?
My life is different than how it would have been if I never received the transfers in that I have build a better house. I depend on small scale farming and casual jobs in the village to earn an income to meet all my household needs. The amount of money that I get through this is so small and could not enable me to buy the building material. Currently I have a spacious house on the land that I bought using the previous transfer. I am so happy because now I have two important assets. GiveDirectly has changed my living standard and it has vibe with us hope to work much easier than before.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion GiveDirectly does well by giving money to the poor in the community to build better houses and to start poultry keeping project. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spend part of the money I received from GiveDirectly on building materials and build a better house on the new land that I bought using the previous transfer. This could have taken quite some time to do this because I depend on small scale farming to earn an income. The rest of the money I used it to buy sofa set seats and other household items. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has enabled me to own a piece of land and a new house.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($497 USD)
access_time over 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I was very excited that I even forgot to take breakfast that day. I rushed to Bomet town to withdraw the cash and forgot that there was something else to do. I could not keep calm to do anything else.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Our ancestral land was very small and the size we inherited was too small. I have been able to buy my own piece of land, though small, and built a house for my family. I plan to buy more land here as there is a bigger space. I left the land back home for my brother and this will be of great help to him as well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I bought a small piece of land and built a small house away from where I used to live since our inherited land was too small.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I do casual jobs such as roofing people's houses in villages and such jobs are unreliable. I therefore intend to buy two dairy cattle each costing $250. This will ensure consistent daily income since I will be supplying milk in the neighbourhood. I will then spend $350 to build a two roomed iron roofed house to ensure comfort to my visitors whenever they come around visiting since the one I currently live in is only one roomed
What is the happiest part of your day?
My usual day entail looking for casual jobs to engage in within the locality. Whenever I manage to secure work to do, coming back home in the evening with enough food is my measure of success, thus evening is the happiest part of my day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Being unable to sustainably provide for my family made my wife despise me and ran away with my one year old son last year. She now lives with her parents who keep on insisting that I should pay dowry first before taking their daughter back. This is the hardship I face in life given that the money I get from the casual jobs I I engage in can never be sufficient enough to meet their demands.
