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 ($462 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I had planned on completing the construction of the new house that I started constructing using the first transfer. I am so grateful because I have fulfilled my wishes. Currently I have a decent and spacious house. Secondly I had planned on paying the school fees for my daughter. I did not have a new goal.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
Giving more to the people in the community to improve their living standards is what GiveDirectly does perfectly well. Most of the people have built better houses and started various income-generating activities. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 30,000 to repay the debt that I had borrowed from a friend to pay school fees for my son who is in University. This gave me peace of mind to do my daily activities without being stressed. I had always wished to do this but I did not have the money. I spent KES 10,000 to start a business selling second-hand clothes. This earns me an income to meet household basic items and even save some amount to pay the school fees for my children. I spent another KES 10,000 to rent a farm I am planning on doing some horticulture farming. I would be able to get enough food for the family and sell the surplus to earn an income to expand my business and save some amount for the school fees. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has changed our living standards to be much better than before.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($484 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I remember vividly like yesterday. It was early in the morning when I was checking my phone as usually. I got a message confirming that I have received money from GiveDirectly. I couldn't hold my joy. I immediately inform my family members and everyone celebrated with joy. This was one of the best morning we had. I have never received such amount of money before. I felt so happy and immediately plan on how to withdrew it. I knew I would be able to pay school fees for my children.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Paying school fees for my daughter in secondary school is the biggest difference in my daily life. I was struggling so much to ensure that she study well. I am a motorcycle taxi operator and also do farming at home. The money that I would get through this was not enough to meet all this at once. My daughter sometimes would be sent home to collect the school fees and this was affecting her performance. I was so stressed up and demoralized whenever I saw her at home. When I received the transfer from GiveDirectly the first priority was to clear her school fees. Currently she is studying well without being disturbed. I expect better performance come next results. I have peace of mind to do my work as a taxi operator. I save some money to pay for the next academic year. I am so grateful for the support because were it not GiveDirectly all this could still be a big struggle.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 18,000 to pay school fees for my daughter. This was one of the priorities that I had. My daughter used to be sent home and this was affecting her performance. I bought building materials ready to build a better kitchen house. I am waiting for the second transfer to start the construction process. The rest of the money I bought food and clothes.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means a better education for my children. I have one child in secondary level and the other 2 in primary level. Due to lack of enough resources our parents could not educate us and we dropped out of school very early. My desire has been to see my children succeed in education and secure employment and improved better living standard than ours. I plan on using KES 30,000 to pay for their school fees. This will help me save some money from the motorcycle taxi business I am doing to use in development projects that I have. The rest of the amount I will use to build a spacious house so that my children will have a ample space to study.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Hearing that Givedirectly is working in my area brought me joy. For the past 3 years now I have been struggling to raise KES 15,000 per year for school fees of my children and other school neccessities. The little I received from motorcycle taxi and other savings from table banking group catered for half of this.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The challenge we are currently facing is financial constraints. I am Motorcycle taxi driver and at the end of the day I earn around KES 300. This amount is not enough to feed my family of 5 and also pay school fees of my son in secondary level. Sometimes my son stay home because of school fees arrears and this term I have not paid any amount. The little that I earn goes into feeding them.
