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 ($443 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My new goal is to be able to be able to improve my poultry keeping business. When I received my second transfer, I embarked on setting up a poultry house and I was also able to buy some few chicken that helped me start up a poultry keeping project. Right now I have 30 chicken that I keep and my goal is to make it to 100 chicken by end of this year. I do not intent to buy any additional chicken but I have intentions of breeding the ones that I currently have. This investment is easy to manage and will serve as an alternative source of income for us as a family. I will no longer have to rely on masonry work that I normally rely on but I will have diversified sources of income like the one that I currently have through dairy keeping. I feel my wife is now more supportive to me through such projects. We will be able to meet the needs of our four children much more easily than we have been able to do before.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion GiveDirectly did so well in offering me support unconditionally. With this I was able to make decisions based on my most immediate needs. Right now I am happy that my children have milk in plenty such that we even sell the surplus to meet other needs of the family. Initially, we were fever with so much scarcity of this very important commodity but with GiveDirectly funds we have been able to buy a dairy cow and be in a position to meet the needs of our family.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used the entire transfer to start a poultry keeping business. I was able to build a poultry house, bought chicken and feeds that have lasted until today. Poultry keeping has been a project that I have always thought about and was looking forward to getting enough funds to be able to start the project. Right now I have 30 chicken that I rear and looking forward to increasing the number to 100 by end of this year. I was also able to fence my compound with the little money that I remained with. This project is very helpful in seeing is meet the cost of living and making our four children stable. I also no longer get worried about my family sleeping hungry when I do not get a masonry job like I used to be before. The investments made have diversified our sources of income as a family and made us very happy as a family. We are so grateful to GiveDirectly.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($474 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I woke up early that morning to a message on my phone bearing the exciting news from Givedirectly that came early before waking up. Together with my family, we celebrated and thanked God for the support that would transform my family's standards of living.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the acquisition of a heifer that will soon provide us with milk for consumption. I am grateful for this support from Givedirectly which has changed our standards of living.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
On receipt of my first transfer,I purchased an in calf heifer worth KES 36,000 which will calf in a few weeks time.This will cut the cost of buying milk daily and divert the money to cater for other household items.With KES 6,000 I spent in buying furniture to replace the old ones which were worn out.I am happy that I can now welcome visitors freely without fear.With the remaining amount,I spent in buying clothes and food for my family members.
Enrolled
access_time 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I have been aspiring to start poultry farming and earn some cash from it. I am engaged in house construction work within and outside the village which is hard to get. When I get the job, I earn an estimated wage of KES 500 a day which is hardly enough to cater to a family 6. Because my wife is just a housewife, I saw the need to start poultry farming which will make her busy and at the same time earn cash from it. I, therefore, intend to spend approximately KES 50,000 to accomplish the whole project and buy chicks. This will be a stepping stone into realizing my dream and I am glad for that.
What is the happiest part of your day?
We managed to harvest sufficient maize in the past 1 month and this has brought joy in our lives. We have never harvested this much since we got married 6 years ago because of a prolonged period of droughts and maize necrosis disease. In our 0.5 acres of land, we managed to harvest 5 bags of maize which has been unheard of. Initially, we used to harvest one bag of maize and at times we harvest nothing, and we are grateful to God for that.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
A constant source of income is the challenge we are currently facing. Being a mason in our region has become an eye-opener to me because getting the job itself is an uphill task. I occasionally get a job and thus lack a constant income has made me think of other sources of income. It is hard to budget for the future and other household recurrent expenditures due to the nature of my job and this makes me feel sad.
