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 goal was to build a house and buy a dairy cow which I have achieved. For now, I have not developed a new goal but I want to focus on rearing my dairy cow.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
What GiveDirectly does well is giving us unconditional cash transfers so that we can plan for ourselves. Previously, the poverty levels in my village was so evident and now that person were able to plan for themselves, everyone got what they need, some build houses, others bought water tanks, others bought livestock among other things. We are so grateful for the support.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
For the longest, I have been buying a litre of milk per day for my family at KES 70, this means out of the KES 300 commission that I earn daily as a motorcycle taxi rider, I have very little or nothing to save after buying food and providing other necessities. My wish has been to buy a dairy cow so that I can get enough milk both for family consumption and for sale but financial inability was the biggest challenge that I have been facing. My goal was to buy a dairy cow and I achieved it by spending KES 23000 to buy a cow. I save the balance and I'm planning to add so more so that I can buy a motorbike.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($489 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 in the morning and I was at the shopping center waiting for someone who had promised to give me some casual work to do to come. Suddenly, as I was seated there, I saw a group of people who were at the center celebrating and talking about GiveDirectly. I wondered what was going on and before I could ask, I heard my phone ringing in my pocket notifying me of a new message. I pulled it out and I could not believe it when I read the SMS which was saying that I had received KES 55000 on my mobile money account. I was filled with so much joy that I decided to go back home so that I could inform my family the good news.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference that the transfer has brought into my life is that I no longer worry a lot about what my family is going to eat whenever I do not get a casual job to do. This is because we were able to buy some food that is going to last us for a while with part of the transfer. My family is thus happier than before.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent most of the money that I got from GiveDirectly on building another house for my family. It has always been my dream to build one but was not in a position to due to a lack of large sum of money that is needed for construction. I wanted to build another because the one that we have been living in was grass-thatched and it had grown old. When rains pour, water usually seeps in through the walls. I do not have a stable job and I depend on casual jobs to earn a living. I get paid around KES 300 per day. Out of this KES 300, I use KES 200 on the purchase of food and other basic essentials. While for the other KES 100 I save it so that I can have something to contribute to a self-help group that I just joined. Achieving the dream of building another house has thus been a big challenge to me.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Where I build my house is a lowland area , when it rains the water flows towards where my house is and finds it's way inside my house. It makes my house logged and uninhabitable. Even cooking becomes so difficult, we use the traditional fireplace and firewood and therefore when the floor is wet it takes a long time to cook. At such situations, we are forced to improvise a piece of iron sheet to put underneath the fireplace for the firewood to burn. It takes time for the water to dry off completely, even up to a month. It is for this reason that I plan to relocated to a higher place and build a better house, an iron-roofed house of 24 iron sheets that will cost approximately KES 40000. I will use the rest of the money to purchase a dairy cow.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My typical day is that each day I wake up to go for casual jobs. My happiest part of the day is in the evening. This is because at such times I have gotten my day's wages and can buy food for my young family.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Life is hard and unbearable for me. I drop out of school in class 5. I was weak in class. I am a casual laborer, mostly involved in weeding crops or clearing land, and digging latrines holes to be able to fend for my family. We live from hand to mouth, in order for me to purchase food I have no option but to engage myself in these casual works, times they are not available, other times I get meager wages which hardly enables me to buy the basic needs I require.
