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 ($517 USD)
access_time 5 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Before I could struggle to do hard and low paying causal jobs in my community. This was so engaging and the certainty of getting it on a daily basis depended on chances . Therefore, meeting my family's needs was straining. I had felt devastated by the hardship I had been through. My life is different since I have found ease to pay school fees for my three children without straining. I am happy because I can now stock food for monthly use in the house with the business profits that I had started with GD's transfers.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly did well by giving me money that is non refundable to construct an iron roofed house which I would have not managed to do on my own. There is nothing they have done bad.
What did you spend your second transfer on?
I have built an new iron sheet house with the larger part of my second transfer hence I am relieved from the burden of getting my clothes and bedding soaked due to the leaking grass thatched roof that I was staying in a shelter. I started a grocery business and now the profits enables me to provide for my family's needs with ease as compared to the casual work I used to do before with the remaining amount.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($545 USD)
access_time almost 6 years ago
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Describe the biggest difference in your daily life.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that initially, my harvest yields were poor and not enough for my family because I had nothing efficient enough to help me in my farming for early preparation and proper timing. Now that I have the pair of oxen, I will do my farming intensively in order to increase food production.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I thought that GD had given us vain promises at first but on that beautiful morning, as I was weeding my crops I received a message notification and on confirming, it was from GiveDirectly that my first transfer has been sent. That's when I came to believe that it was indeed true to their word. I was very happy that now I had money that I've never imagined of having even a single minute of my life.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I spent part of my first transfer to buy a pair of oxen. Initially, I was hiring from neighbors and because it was costly, I could not meet my target as far as farming was concerned. I was also unable to fully cultivate my farm and the harvest I was getting was only a handful. With the pair, I will now plough my farm early and increase the acreage of my arable land in order to get better yields. I will also hire to my neighbours at a price, which means an income to me. In addition to this, I bought some iron sheets and other building materials to construct a new house since the one I was living was leaking because its roofing was worn out and old and nearly part of it had collapsed, making it difficult for us to shelter in. On the remaining amount, I spent on shopping for my family and also bought food for them.
Enrolled
access_time 6 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I have been selling charcoal for the past 5 years to feed my family but recently it became an illegal business due to the ban by the government. Receiving this money comes as a relief to me as I will be able to venture into a new business of motorcycle transport. I will buy my own motorcyle which will provide income for my family on a daily basis while also making movement of goods and people in the village to be faster and efficient.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My day starts at around 6am in the morning where I go to our charcoal site to gather firewood and other materials required to burn charcoal. This is the happiest part of my day because I have enough time to prepare and get the charcoal ready because some of the produce need to reach the market early in order to fetch good price.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My parents were not able to afford to take my siblings and I to school. This really affected my life because with lack of education I am not able to get decent jobs to feed my family. The only skill I learnt from them is charcoal burning but as things stand, it is an illegal business so I live in fear of being arrested while I try to fend for my family.