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 ($518 USD)
access_time 4 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
The two differences that changed in my life since I received my transfers from GiveDirectly are; paying school fees for my children on time which saw them remain in school for the whole term concentrating on their studies. In the past, I wouldn't have managed to pay the amount on time due to little income from the sale of farm produce. They would stay at home for as long as I was in a position to get money. Secondly, I managed to use a large portion of my transfers to buy building materials and pay for labor. So far I have constructed a house for the family and the other one for my son. Having made all these advancements in life is a big achievement that I attribute to GiveDirectly.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, I thank Give Directly for choosing to work in our village since the majority of us were living in a pathetic condition under poor structures. This only indicated the level of poverty in our area. With these transfers, there was a shift in terms of better shelter and improved food security. To say the truth, everything went well. The level of transparency was on another level and the best part was keeping their promise by sending the transfer on time.
What did you spend your second transfer on?
I spent part of my second transfer to purchase building materials purposefully for constructing two houses. Before GiveDirectly came, we used to live in a mud-walled house that leaked a lot during rainy seasons. The condition of the house forced us to spend sleepless nights and exposed us to respiratory-diseases. The money helped me construct a more decent house. We are no longer afraid of the winter season. Additionally, I build my son a house. Now we have a good shelter that I could not have built anytime soon due to a shortage of resources.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($531 USD)
access_time over 4 years ago
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Describe the biggest difference in your daily life.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have bought a dairy cow. I used to buy milk from my neighbors and it was so costly for me. We do casual jobs in the village and the amount of money I get from this was not enough to meet all the basic needs of the family. Sometimes we could go without breakfast and lunch when we missed getting casual jobs and this was so demoralizing especially to the school-going children. Currently, I have enough milk for my family and I sell the surplus at the market to pay school fees and meet other basic household needs for the family. GiveDirectly has changed our living standard for my family. We had devoted all our time in our own farms rather than working on someone farm like we used to do before and this has resulted in higher productivity.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The moment I received my money I felt so happy. It was very early in the morning when I heard from my son that he had received the money. When I checked my phone I did not believe my eyes I have never received such an amount of money in my entire life. we were so happy because I knew I would be able to buy a dairy cow and pay school fees for my children.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I spent my first transfer on buying a dairy cow, food and clothes for my family members, pay school fees for children in secondary school and the rest of the money I used it to cultivate my farm ready for planting maize this season.
Enrolled
access_time over 4 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money will enable me to buy a dairy cow that will in turn support me in providing basic needs such as food and cloths for my family as well as paying school fees for my two children in primary school. Buying a 200 litre water tank is also part of my plans since this will ensure that i harvest enough water for family use whenever it rains thus lessening the task of going miles away in search of water during dry seasons.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is in the evening whenever i arrive home after a long day of toiling hard to find some income that would latter see me buy some food for my children. It is usually encouraging whenever i meet my day's goals.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
In the past, farming used to be what we depended on for a living in this area but due to crop pests and diseases that cropped up about 6 years ago, we no longer venture into farming since we always end up having poor yields and less harvests. Since then, i always engage in manual jobs to earn a living and more specifically going to the forest to fetch some fire wood that i would latter sell in hotels and people's homes. This is an uphill task since sometimes i wake up without much energy to engage in this casual job but i got no otherwise since i got a family who fully depend on me. This is the biggest hardship i face.
