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 ($493 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 paid school fees for my children in various schools. They used to be sent home to collect the school fees and this was affecting their performance since lessons were on going. I do small scale farming and the harvest that we get is small and only for consumption. Whenever there is an extra harvest we do sell to earn an income to meet other basic household needs including paying school fees. When I received the second transfer I found it wise to pay all the school fees. My children improved in their performance compared to the previous terms. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has changed our living standard and enabled us to achieved our dreams.
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 pay school fees. 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 School fees for my children who are in secondary school. My children used to be sent home to collect the school fees and this was affecting their performance. I also bought a heifer. I will be able to get milk when it reproduce, it's will cut the daily cost of buying milk which is so expensive. The rest of the money I bought food for the family.
Heifer
Food
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($494 USD)
access_time over 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was around six in the morning when I woke up and switched off my phone only to find the good news from GD. I was overwhelmed with joy and was grateful to God.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is settlement of my late son's hospital bill and burial ceremony. From the GD transfers, I topped part of my transfer with community contributions. I also have adequate food for my family and my kid's have grown healthy and neat from the latest clothing fashion I bought using GD transfers.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 30,000 of my transfer on settlement of a hospital bill for my late first born who succumbed to heart failure. I also spent KES 5500 on a goat because it gives birth twice a year and can later sell it for a heifer. I also spent KES 6400 on two maize sacks of maize because my stock was depleted due seasonal weather fluctuations. I also spent KES 5000 on latest clothing fashion unlike the second hand clothes which we used to put on.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
My number one desire as a parent is to invest heavily in the education of my children. During our time we did not attach so much value to going to school, and that is majorly the reason why we have lived a life full of challenges. I struggle day and night to get my children the best education that I can. At the moment I have 4 children who are in various schools, 2 in high school and 2 at primary level. The school fees for the ones in high school is 60000 shillings and 10000 shillings for those in primary. Raising this amount is almost impossible for me considering that I depend on farming which is not doing so well in this region. Receiving this money will mean a lot to me as it will enable me to easily take my children to school.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I am always happy in the evening because this is the I take some rest from the hard day's work. Attaining my day's goals comes with even more happiness because it brings me hope of a better tomorrow.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I have a large family of 7 members and putting food on the table for all of them is not a walk in the park. We depend on farming as the only source of livelihood in this area. With unreliable weather patterns, this venture can be very frustrating. We experience prolonged seasons of drought almost every year and this leaves us counting losses. In the year 2017, I worked hard on my farm with the hope of getting a good harvest. I planted maize in my 1-acre piece of land but I came out empty-handed because of a drought that lasted 3 good months. This killed my morale of ever venturing into farming again.
