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
53010 KES ($392 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?
As soon as I have some money, my current goal is to build a house for my son. Now that I have the building supplies, my goal is to secure the labor costs so that the work may start. I have faith that I will be able to accomplish my aim through the little enterprises I run. Not only will this make me happy, but it will also give my son the confidence he needs to live on his own.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
I believe that other organizations that wish to make a difference in the community should take a cue from GiveDirectly. In addition to the excellent deeds my community members accomplished through GiveDirecly, it allowed me to take good care of my ailing spouse and I am grateful that he is doing well. I am very appreciative of the organization.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
After receiving the second transfer, I decided to create some interlocking blocks so I could build my son a house. I started doing this because my adult son used to sleep in my house, which bothered me. I thought my parental privacy was being violated. I spent $250 making 2500 bricks as a result. After that, I paid my son's secondary school tuition of $100. My spouse's back problems prevented me from building the house, so I used the money that was left over to buy food for the family and his medication.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($442 USD)
access_time almost 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
On that particular day, at around 4 pm, I received a message from GiveDirectly on my phone. I was attending a neighbor's wedding committee meeting when I got it and could hardly wait to see what it was all about. I was overwhelmed with joy after confirming that I had received the initial $550 from GiveDirectly. The excitement on my face was palpable as I made my way back home hurriedly to give the good news to my family.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
In all honesty, the biggest noticeable difference we have seen is being able to complete the house after two years. It is one of our major achievements, something I never thought would happen in this lifetime. All the achievement is courtesy of GiveDirectly.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Life has not been easy these past few years ever since my husband retired and fell ill. We have faced a myriad of challenges and have been struggling to make ends meet as a family. Our family house has stayed incomplete for two years now as we lacked the financial resources to make it more decent. I, therefore, spent the entire amount received on roofing the areas that were bare and gaping and also installing windows. I am very proud of how far we have come as a family, as we could finally accomplish our goal, a project which had stalled for close to two years.
Enrolled
access_time 2 years ago
What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?
Like I have explained to you, I have a problem with my right leg making it hard for me to comfortably walk long distances hence has an impact on my source of livelihood; selling peanut through hawking. I therefore want to get another way of generating income that is somehow passive. So far, I have been considering poultry farming. My main reasons being that it's not expensive to start and the chicken are easy to sell when need be. Among the few things I need to start are just a chicken coop, one sac of starter feeds, some medications and one hundred chicks. All that plus construction cost I have estimated to be $500.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I have had a lot of struggle through my hawking business given that I have a problem with my right leg and can not comfortably walk long distances. But recently I got to feel really happy when my child who's been jobless for quite sometime finally got another motorcycle for taxi business. He lost the one he had four months ago and has been living through support from friends and me. Over that period I even borrowed $220 for him from a particular organization so that he could pay his bills. I was afraid it wasn't going to be possible to pay back in time, but he managed to raise that money and sent it all to me last month. I felt so relieved and happy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Lack of reliable sources of income and poor agricultural practices. We do not have better ways of generating income and because we largely depend on subsistence farming, I would say our crude agricultural practices also contribute in low yield that puts us all in constant poverty. Currently I'm hawking roasted peanuts through the villages and sometimes at Matanomanne trading center. It's somehow slow and can only generate around $3 daily. This much can only buy food.
