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 over 2 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Our goal is to start a shop business in the nearby center. We want to start the business there because the center is near a school and a hospital. The business will hence catch up and we will be able to get more income. We will hence no longer be depending alone on the money that my husband earns from his job as a driver. I usually practice small-scale farming and at times I am idle especially when we have already planted the crops and we waiting for them to mature. With the shop business, I will be able to keep myself busy. We plan to use some of the money that my husband has saved to start the business.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly did well by giving money to the people and leaving them to choose for themselves what to do with the transfer. Their work is good and I do not see anything that they are not doing well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We spent the transfer money on paying college fees for my brother and buying a cow. We took out KES 20000 and paid the fees and another KES 25000 we used in buying a cow. The remaining amount of money we used in buying food. We did not have a source of milk because we did not have a cow. We hence used to incur the cost of buying milk where we could buy a litre every day at KES 40 per litre. We also usually pay college fees for my brother. We usually pay using part of the money that my husband earns at his job as a driver. So when we got the transfer, we decided to clear his fees so that we could have a bit of peace of mind. The food that we bought is going to last us for a while. We also no longer incur the cost of buying milk having bought the cow. Due to the reduced costs, my husband has been able to save the money he makes. We plan to use the money saved to start a shop business.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($492 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 working on the farm when at 9 a.m, I received a message notification. I checked my phone and was pleasantly surprised to see that I had received KES 55,000. I was so happy and called my husband so we could celebrate together.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
My family lives in a small, one-bedroom house. It would also serve as a kitchen and storeroom, which sadly made it so congested. This made me self conscious and I did not want to let visitors into my home. I could not afford to change this, since I have no source of income. But, thanks to the transfer from GiveDirectly, I have built a kitchen for us. I can now cook my family's meals comfortably, and it makes me so happy.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I needed to build a kitchen for my family since our one-bedroom house wasn't spacious enough to serve as one too. I would even feel ashamed to host visitors because of this. Unfortunately, I did not have enough money to do so since I do not have a source of income. So I was glad to spend KES 30,000 on construction material such as timber and iron sheets, and labour costs for the same. I also spent KES 24,000 on acquiring a calf. It will hopefully start providing us with milk in a few months.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I got married less than a year ago and I primarily depend on subsistence farming to meet my household needs while my husband is a casual laborer. I am lucky to have built an iron-roofed house but I made it a kitchen as well as a living room since I could not afford to build a kitchen with the little resource. Receiving this money means I will be able to build a decent kitchen. I am planning to spend KES25000 to construction a small kitchen thus, I will have a decent living and bedroom free from smoke like now. In addition as a way of investing, I am planning to use KES40000 to buy a dairy cow. This is an added asset to my family which I will rely on for milk for both household consumption and sales to earn an extra income.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The afternoon is the time am back from my daily casual jobs or farming. This is the time I relax just after my lunch as I flashback on my main daily chores and plan for the next day's activities thus I find an afternoon to be my happiest part of the day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I was brought up in a family of five children and my parents depend on subsistence farming to meet our needs. We had been lucky to have gone to school since my parents love education. The biggest hardship I have ever faced is lack of finances that would settle my fee to allow us have ample time to study.
