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 ($439 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 have now is building a better and more spacious house for my family. We live in a small house that cannot host all my family comfortably. I have bought some of the materials ready to start the construction process. I look forward to owning and starting this house construction project soon.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
Since the money was unconditional most of the people invested in different projects. Some build better and more spacious houses. Some invested in dairy-keeping projects and this has enabled them to cut the daily cost of buying milk. I do not find anything that GiveDictely did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent $320 on purchasing a dairy cow. I used to buy milk daily this was so costly for me. Whenever I do not have money we would go without milk and this was so demoralizing. I rely majorly on small-scale farming whereby I plant maize and beans. This is majorly for consumption and sometimes we sell the surplus to get some money to meet our daily household needs and school fees for my children. Currently, I have enough milk for the family, and I have cut the daily cost that I usually incur on purchasing me. I spent $30 on paying school fees for my four children in primary school. They are now studying well without being sent home like before. The remaining amount of money I spent on purchasing timber and household basic needs that we were missing. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has changed our living standards.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($466 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The moment I received my transfer, I can vividly recall that it was at night when I had just retired to bed. I was awoken by a loud ringtone sound, On checking what the message entailed. That was when I realised that I had received a sum of KES 55,000 from GiveDirectly. I busted with joy and happiness because I knew that I would be able to transform my life with the funds. I then broke the good news to my husband who was equally happy and excited and finally, we embarked on planning how we would best utilise our money.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have been able to accomplish my dreams in a short period. Constructing a decent kitchen house in a short period is a great milestone that I never thought that I would have accomplished due to financial constraints. I am grateful to the organization for putting smiles on our faces and for transforming our living standards.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Upon the receipt of my second transfer, My husband and I opted to build a decent kitchen. We only had one at the moment and we could not afford to construct a kitchen due to financial constraints. My husband works as a construction worker and I am a consistent farmer, together we are blessed with five children. We, therefore, used KES 28,000 in constructing the house. Secondly, I used KES 4000 on farming and lastly I Used the remaining amount on foodstuffs and clothes. I am grateful for the funds that changed our living standards amazingly.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I would love to spend these transfers to acquire a piece of land and 3 dairy cattle. The land we are currently occupying is only 0.3 acres and we usually graze our livestock in the forest land which is owned by the government and I am worried that any time we might be told to stop grazing our animals in the forest land. We depend only on these cattle to earn a living which is about KES 3000 monthly. It is then prudent to acquire a new piece of land where we can grow fodder crops for the animals. This will ensure that if the government wants to stop us soon from using the forest land we shall have an alternative without our income being affected.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I tried keeping poultry at the beginning of the year and I am happy that this far I have not experienced any challenges. The main challenge is usually diseases that can wipe out the entire flock but for my poultry we have not seen anything bad yet.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The major challenge here is inadequate land size. We need more land to enable us to comfortably maintain our livestock without depending on the forest land. We could also keep more livestock if we had more land to ensure an increased income but land restricts us from expanding our income.
