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 ($440 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?
Despite the difficult burden of paying the school fees for my six children, I have faith that I will soon open a small business that will provide a steady source of income for my family. Many people are interested in venturing into maize buying and selling maize because it has a high demand in the neighborhood. The part-time work I have been doing is currently my only source of income, and I am hoping that the little amount of money I have been saving after buying food for my family every day will help me get my business off the ground.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
After receiving the transfers from GiveDirectly, the living standards in every household in the village improved significantly. I am grateful that they provided us with an equal amount and the freedom to spend it as we saw fit in our households. Unlike material goods, monetary assistance allowed us to make informed spending decisions that had a direct impact on our daily lives. I have nothing to complain about after the entire process because GiveDirectly kept all of its promises.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I currently have two sons and a daughter in a private boarding primary school, and paying their school fees has been a significant challenge. When I received the second transfer, I spent $200 clearing their arrears so they could attend the remaining lessons in the term. Previously, we were reliant on casual labor, with my husband occasionally painting while I worked on people's farms to supplement our income. I was grateful when GiveDirectly stepped in because we were able to accomplish so much in such a short period of time. I also spent $60 on improving our subsistence farming by preparing the land and purchasing farm inputs, such as maize seeds and fertilizer. The farm has made such good progress that I am optimistic that our acre of land will produce an unusually productive harvest this season. In addition, I used $120 of the remaining transfer to buy food for my family for the next two months. I used the rest of the money to buy new clothes for my six children. I am grateful for the generous support we received, as well as the transformation I have seen in my family since then.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($468 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I felt so happy the moment I received money from GiveDirectly. It was around 9:00 pm when I saw the message that we had finally received the long awaited payment . I quickly shared the good news with my family who was overwhelmed as well.We later planned on how we were going to spend the money to reap maximum benefits from it
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life since I started receiving payments from GiveDirectly is the blending machine that we were abe to buy. The amount of income that we now receive is way too much compared to before when we did not have enough. Initially getting higher returns was a nightmare and we no longer take
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
My husband works as a painter and he used KES 15000 to buy a blender. I used another KES 10000 to help my child who was going through initiation rites and used the remaining amount to pay school fees for my children who are in boarding schools. Had I not received money from GiveDirectly then maybe they would have been sent home for school fees. I normally rely on farming to get money for food and to meet other expenses.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
My father-in-law bought land in the neighborhood and asked my family to move out of our ancestral land and settle there. The ancestral land is largely fertile but the other one is covered with rocks and hence nothing grows on it. I am a farmer but sadly I cannot practice it here since my farm cannot support it. I desire to start poultry farming because I feel that is the only thing that can be viable here. My husband works as a painter where he earns KES 300-450 per day when he is lucky to get a painting job. This money caters for food such as milk, vegetables and maize flour leaving us with nothing to save for the poultry project. I intend to spend KES 40,000 to buy 50 chicken and also construct a modern chicken structure. I will then start collecting eggs and selling them for KES 15 each and stop depending on my husband. Receiving this money will help me start a poultry business and this will be an additional source of income for my family.
What is the happiest part of your day?
It is two weeks since schools were closed and I enjoy the company that my five children are giving me. I am always lonely and bored when they are all in school with no one to talk to. The fact that they are home right now is something that makes me happy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Financial constraint is the biggest challenge that my family is going through at the moment. I live on a largely rocky farm and that has limited me from actively engaging in agriculture to support my husband in feeding the family. My husband works as a painter and he rarely gets a job because painting jobs are hard to come by. In a week he can be lucky to work for 2-3days and the rest of the days he is just idling around. It feels bad when he comes home empty-handed
