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.
Learn more about how recipients opt in to share their stories.
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2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($489 USD)
access_time over 3 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life is different than how it would have been had I not received the transfer. This is because I have been able to purchase a piece of land. Due to this, I am assured that I will soon start farming it. I will be planting different types of vegetables in this farm for our consumption and for sale. The income generated from this activity will enable me to pay school fees for my children on time and meet some of our basic needs
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly does well by giving out financial support and I do not see anything that they do not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 40,000 from my transfers to purchase a piece of land from one of my neighbors. I settled on this since the land I had is small and one cannot practice farming. I used the remaining amount to purchase some clothes, food and other household necessities for my family.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($516 USD)
access_time over 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It has been so humbling anticipating the money after completing the enrollment process with the officers who came home. We have been counting it down against the dates given then. On receiving, the joy we had was immeasurable; we had a pressing urge to celebrate publicly but the fact that every other person had received the same amount in the village gave us a second thought of keeping our good feelings to ourselves. With the great plans and projections, we had in place, confirmation of our accounts receipts was all we were waiting for. We are really grateful that we are slowly seeing what we have ever hoped for coming to pass.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
After purchasing a lactating cow, we have seen a lot of changes for the better in our household. It has been long since our children had extra milk to take apart from the few liters we used to obtain from our neighbor's farm which were specifically meant for preparing tea. Currently, each member of the household can at least enjoy half a glass of fresh milk after supper. This is one big difference in our daily lives which we are so glad to be enjoying after receiving the first transfer.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Upon receiving my first transfer, I spent part of it on purchasing livestock. I obtained a good breed of a cow that came with a calf. This has seen us produce enough milk for domestic use without having to buy as we used to do before. It has cut down on our expenses, and we can now save a little bit higher amount of money for other household needs than what we were initially saving. We decided to spend the remaining amount of money on purchasing enough household foodstuff, and other needs which were still missing.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I run a shop that does not have adequate stock. Sometimes I feel embarrassed when a customer asks for something and I do not have. Receiving this money means that I will equip my shop with adequate stock and/of different varieties at a cost of 50,000 shillings. I intend also to use the rest of the amount to offset the remaining balance of a piece of land I bought sometimes back.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I am a shopkeeper and I mostly spend my time attending to customers. The happiest part of my day is in the evening since this is the time customers are many. The reason for this is because most of the nearby shops close early and post that time, all the customers come to my place.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I have a shop that I solely depend to fend my family. Sometimes my family's expenses supercedes the profit and as a result consume part of the stock. When this happens, I have to borrow some money from friends and relatives and then repay them periodically. I have gone to an extend of even closing the shop for several weeks as I raise cash to buy stock. This for me is the biggest hardship I have ever experienced.
