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 ($467 USD)
access_time 2 years 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 open a business and do some farming. I want to start selling clothes and shoes. I want to do the above so that I can make better money that can help me with the upkeep of my three children and pay school fees for them. I am currently doing casual jobs of farming and plucking tea. The little money that I get is what I usually use in buying food for them and paying part of their school fees now that I am the only one that they depend on to provide for them. I had to leave my house after my husband beat me up and brought another wife.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly did well when they thought well of starting this program of helping the needy in the society. The lives of many have been uplifted. They also did well because they wanted the money to benefit the household. They hence wanted people in the household to plan together because they did not want any household conflict arising because of the transfers. I do not see anything wrong with their way of work. I hence encourage them to continue with the good work.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
My husband took away the phone from me and he went and withdrew all the money on his own. He then planned on his own how to spend it without involving me. He spent part of the recent transfer money on buying a motorcycle and the rest of it he opened a shop business with it. We managed to plan together when we got the first transfer but I do not know what happened when the second transfer was sent. He suddenly turned wild and he beat me up and took the phone with him. He then burnt the phone and he brought another wife. I had to leave with the children.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($499 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
When I heard my phone vibrating, I quickly rushed to pick it as I thought that someone was calling me and it was when I wanted to pick it when I realized that it was not a call but an incoming message. On opening it, my heart was filled with joy as I realized that it was a Mpesa message. I informed my family who joined me in celebrating the good news since this money gave us hope that our dream of owning a dairy cow would soon be fulfilled.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
I am now a proud owner of a dairy cow and this is the biggest difference in my daily life. Even though I still buy milk daily, I am glad that this will end soon. My joy will be complete when it calves as my family will have enough milk for consumption and sale to earn an income that we can spend on other pressing needs.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Buying milk has been my routine and because of this is costly as I have been spending KES 50 daily on them apart from other items that I usually buy like maize flour, salt, and sugar. On receiving my transfer, I spent KES 42000 to purchase a dairy cow and five chicken as a way of starting poultry farming. We will be using eggs as an alternative of vegetables as it is a good source of proteins. As a way of fully utilizing my land as I had just harvested my farm produce, I spent KES 5000 on farming through buying fertilizers and beans seeds for planting. Finally, I spent KES 5000 on clothes as a way of changing our wardrope and KES 2200 to purchase a seat.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am a young ambitious mother of two who primarily depends on subsistence farming to see my family through. Since we got married, we have had a dream of improving our farming to enables us to acquire more assets and get better yields to sustain my family throughout the year. To me, receiving this money means a better investment in farming since I am planning to spend KES75000 on farming. First, I will buy a dairy cow worth KES50000 because am assured this will bring to an end expensive spending on milk and instead earn extra income from surplus milk that I will be selling. In addition, I will use KES18000 to buy both goats and chickens to rear in my compound. These together with the calves from the cow will be my financial securities thus I will live a secure life unlike currently. I wish to spend KES7000 to boost my crop farming too since this will supplement my livestock produce. I am planning to spend KES25000 to build an iron-roofed house hence I will have two for my family. I will spend the remaining amount, I will spend on my family basic needs mainly daily food and clothing.
What is the happiest part of your day?
As a subsistence farmer, I spend much of my day on the farm to improve my yields. To me, the happiest part of my day is in the afternoon just after my farming activities since this is the time I go back home knowing that I have cultivate enough to feed my family and I have what to take home for my family daily meal.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Ever since I got married, I have always wished that I would buy a cow and improve my farming inputs to boost my farming produce but overwhelming household needs have never given me a chance before. I rely on farming which hardly meets my daily household needs. To me, scarce resources in my family has been the biggest hardship I have faced in my life.
