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
55000 KES ($484 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?
I am planning to clear all debts so that I will be leaving a peaceful life
Building a new house
Buying a water tank
Buying a grade cow.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
It changes people's lives for instance in my case as a single mother with kids who are in high school and university i could have sold my piece of land to cater for their school fees but because of the transfer i received from give directly I never sold my piece of land again and now my kids are going on we'll with their education.
Give directly staff both those in call centre and field officers serve us very well I personally feel cared and loved by give directly.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Settling debts initially I heard a lot of debts which I borrowed to cater for my personal needs but after receiving my transfer I cleared all the debts
Paid three months rent for my son who is at the University of eldoret pursuing statistics so that he will have humble time to study
Cleared outstanding fees balances for my son who is in high school
I bought a water tank which I'll be using in harvesting clean water for domestic use.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($487 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I was in school in class and I was teaching. I had placed my phone which was on silent mode on the table. So as I was going about with my job, I heard my phone vibrating and it lighted up notifying me that there was a new message. I briefly stopped to check it just to make sure that it wasn't an emergency and I couldn't believe it when I saw that it was an SMS telling me that I had received KES 55000 in my mobile money account from GiveDirectly. I was so happy on seeing this that I looked forward to meeting with some of my colleagues whom I knew had received the same good news. We met over break time and we celebrated together.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The transfer from GiveDirectly has brought a very big difference in my life and that of my family. I had always wanted to buy another cow and I was able to achieve my dream. With the additional cow, my milk production will go high, and hence I will be able to supply more milk to the milk cooling plant. This means more income at the end of the month which can help me in paying school fees for my two children.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent most of my transfer on buying another cow. I had only one cow and I wanted to add another so that I could increase my milk production. I have been having only one cow and I have been selling two litres of milk daily at KES 35 per litre. I wanted to increase the amount of milk that I sell every day because the income from the sale of milk has been helping me a lot. I was not able to buy another cow before because I didn't have the money. I am an ECD (Early Childhood Development) teacher. The money that I get paid together with that from milk sales, most of it usually goes to the payment of school fees for my two children. One is in the university while the other is in secondary school. I am hence so much grateful to GiveDirectly because they enabled me to achieve my dream of owning another cow.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money will mean my family can have an extra source of income by purchasing a dairy cow. I work as a kindergarten teacher at a nearby school, earning a salary of KSH 8,300 per month. My 2 children are both in school, one in secondary and the other one is in college. I currently get KSH 3000 per month from milking the one cow I own. I hope to use around KSH 35,000 to purchase another dairy cow and get and extra income from selling the milk. I'm estimating an income of KSH 6,500 from the milk I'll sell once I get another cow. As for the remaining amount of the transfer I'll use in paying school fees for my children.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Each morning I wake up at around 6am in the morning to go to school. I'm a kindergarten teacher at a nearby school and I spend most of my day there teaching and engaging in other school activities until noon. In the afternoon I'm at home farming and milking my cow. I'm more relaxed and the happiest in the afternoon while doing these activities.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
As a single mother one of the biggest hardships I've faced is financial constraints. My income each month amounts to KSH 8,300, this alone can not sustain my family's needs. My two children are in school, they need school fees, some school allowance as well as clothes but with my salary it's not possible to cater for all these and save up for future emergencies.