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 ($442 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?
The new goal that I did not have before receiving the transfer is purchasing a dairy cow. This is because always buy milk daily and this is so costly. We depend on small-scale farming and this is majorly for consumption. My spouse does casual jobs and we spent the money that he gets on other basic household needs. We save some money planning on purchasing a dairy cow in the near future.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly does well by giving money to the poor in the community to build a better houses and to start various businesses. The living standard of the people has improved compared to when they had not received the transfer. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well since the training and the enrollment were perfectly done well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 40,000 on purchasing a motorcycle. This was the priority since we wanted a source of income for the family. My spouse does casual jobs and the money that he gets is so small and it was only for the basic needs of the family. Currently, we have an additional source of income from the business of motorcycle taxi business that we started. I spent KES 7,000 on paying the debt that was pending. This was going us sleepless nights since there was no money to pay back. The rest of the money we spent was on food and household items. We are so grateful because GiveDirectly has improved our standard of living.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($484 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was around 8 pm and I was preparing dinner for my family when saw a notification message on my phone. Upon checking, it was an MPESA message bearing the promised funds from Give directly. I was so amazed and shared the news with my equally excited children. I am thankful to Give directly for delivering their promise.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the construction of a new modern house. Though not complete, am looking forward to finishing it with my second transfer.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Paying a debt I had was my priority. With my first cash transfer of Kshs.25,000 I used to clear the debt. I had been given a cow by my relative to keep on my farm but unfortunately, it died, and had to pay it. Am now relieved after clearing the debt since for a long time I was stressed about where I could get the money because I depended on manual jobs and couldn't raise a lot of money. With Kshs.20,000, I used to buy some materials to construct a two-roomed modern house. Though not complete, am looking forward to the second transfer to finish up on it. With the remaining amount, I used to buy foodstuff and clothes for my children.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
In my homestead I have two housing structures, a grass thatched hut which servers as our kitchen and bedroom for my 5 children while the other structure which is a one room structure serves as my bedroom and sitting room. Both structures are quite small to accommodate all of us let alone guests. My hope is to own a bigger house with 3 rooms so that my family of 7 can all sleep under one roof. I plan on using my first transfer of about KES 45,000 to build a 3 bedroom house for my family.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I'm a subsistence farming who depend on maize and beans for food. We have been experiencing drought and because of this I wasn't able to plant any crops. But last month there was some rains and I decided to plant my crops, so far there is progress and I'm hopeful that by early next year during the harvesting season I'll be able to have good yields, sell the produce and use it as food for my family as well.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Since my husband who works as a casual labourer in a tea farm in Kericho barely makes enough income for the household, I'm forced to do farming on our barren piece of land and milk from our one cow. We are currently experiencing drought and so the only cow I depend on for food and as a source of income has not been helpful. There is no grass fed r the cow and so the milk production has been very low. I now only use the two cups of milk in my household for tea and I can not sell it to make an income for the household.
