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 ($493 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 it would have been if I never received the transfers in that I paid the school fees for my children in various schools. I do small scale farming and also do casual jobs in the village. This jobs are not well paying. I used to get small amount of money for food and clothes. My spouse also does casual jobs and the money that he gets is for other basic household needs and pay school fees for our children. My children used to be sent home to collect the school fees and this was affecting their performance. When I received the second transfer I found it wise to clear their school fees on time. They were not sent home and this led to improving their grades in school.This is because they had time to study well without being sent home. I have peace of mind to do my daily activities at home because I know my children won't be sent home. My spouse too is so happy and excited because he's no longer being called at school to explain why he has not been able to pay on time. GiveDirectly has change our living standard and given us hope to work harder. We are so happy and thank GiveDirectly for this amazing support.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion GiveDirectly does well by giving money to the poor in the community to build better houses and to buy dairy cows. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spend part of the money I received from GiveDirectly to buy a water tank for storing water for domestic use. I used to walk for a long distance to collect clean water. This was so tiresome and time consuming. I also bought pipes and other materials for drainage from the hardware. This was mainly for connecting the tap water. The rest of the money I pay workers who were doing the plumping and blaster. I also pay school fees for my children in various schools and bought food for the family.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($501 USD)
access_time 4 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The moment I received the transfers I was alone washing dishes and was overwhelmed with joy because I had never received such an amount before. I didn't want to inform my family that I had gotten it but my son broke the news when he came and asked whether I had received it or not and I couldn't hide my joy anymore. I was so restless while going to the MOMO agent and sometimes I thought somebody was monitoring all my steps because I had never gotten such a huge amount at once.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is purchase of my own furniture because before whenever a church meeting was scheduled in my house I used to borrow furniture from a friend of which was a big shame. I have also bought a heifer which will be a source of milk and income for my family because I couldn't afford one before.I have also bought a Kentank which will help storage of clean rain water majorly for domestic consumption because the river water in our place is not healthy for consumption and buying drinking water is quite costly.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Once I received my transfer, I spent 180 dollars on a heifer in order to reduce milk buying costs. Secondly, I spent 150 dollars on a Kentank worth 1000 litres in order to access and store clean drinking water because water is a big issue in our place because of the clay soil type. Thirdly, I spent another 180 dollars on three sofa set seaters because I didn't have any furniture and my sitting room was like a big hall but now it's more cosy than before. Lastly, I also spent 30 dollars on ploughing land making it ready farming, 32 dollars on a sack of maize meal for my kids and 60 dollars on my own and kids clothing.For all these I cannot thank GD enough.
Enrolled
access_time 4 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money would give my family a new face. My husband and I have always wanted to give our children the best education. This has not been possible owing to the fact that we do not have financial ability. We have 3 children at secondary level and 3 in primary level. Catering for their school fees is an impossible dream at the moment. They are always sent out of school because of unpaid arrears. This has brought so much shame to us as parents. We are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that GiveDirectly will break the much awaited news to us.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Morning hours is the happiest part of my day. This is the time I wake up feeling strong and energetic ready to face the challenges of the day. This is also the time I get to align the goals for the day with other members of my family.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Having to feed my family has been the biggest nightmare to me. We practice farming and because we live in an area which experiences low rainfall, we have been getting losses every other year. We grow maize and beans but prolonged droughts have seriously affected our main source of livelihood. Personality, I got only two sacks of maize from the 1.5 acre piece of land and this is not enough to feed my family of 6 children.