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 ($518 USD)
access_time 4 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 because In am every busy and I do not depend on my husband for everything. This is because I have been using the profits from our shop and maize shelling business to meet some of our daily basic needs. Due to this, my spouse has been able to save some money monthly and we will invest this savings in our children's education.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly did well by uplifting our living standards and I do not see anything that they did not do well.
What did you spend your second transfer on?
When I received my second transfer, we decided to open a shop in our locality so that it will be keeping me busy and be able to meet some of our needs without having to ask for money from my spouse. Also, we spent some amount to buy a stock of maize so that my customers will not be looking for maize elsewhere then come to my place to shell them. I spent the remaining amount to buy a heifer for rearing. I will be using the money from milk sales to meet some of our needs when it reproduces
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($532 USD)
access_time over 4 years ago
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Describe the biggest difference in your daily life.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have bought a dairy cow. I used to buy milk on a daily basis and it was so costly for me. I depend on casual jobs and small scale farming to earn an income to meet the basic needs of the family. Currently, I have enough milk for my family and I sell the surplus to earn an income to meet other needs. I no longer do much of the casual jobs, I have devoted much of my time on my farm and the small business of selling cereals. I am so much happy because GiveDirectly has made my life better. My children are no longer sent home like before to collect school fees because I pay on time. I am so much happy because our living standard has completely changed thanks to GiveDirectly.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I felt so happy the moment I realized that I had received my first transfer. I remember it was very early in the morning when I checked my phone and to my surprise, there was a new message indicating that I had received money from GiveDirectly. I had never received such an amount of money before. I immediately inform my spouse and he was so happy to hear. We immediately budgeted on how to spend the money and the first thing that came into our minds was to buy a dairy cow. We had wished for long to have one but we couldn't due to limited resources.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
Buying milk had been my routine and it was always costly. When I received my first transfer, I used part of it to buy a dairy cow. This has really cut off my household daily expenditures. I am happy since I no longer buy milk anymore, I rather sell some to my neighbors to earn an income. Also, I spent part to pay casual workers I had hired to help me with some work at home. The remaining amount I used on my family's basic needs mainly foodstuffs.
Enrolled
access_time over 4 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
At the beginning of the year, my spouse had a plan of setting up a retail shop at the edge of our land near the shopping center. We were unable to realize this plan since we never completed constructing the shop. This money will therefore enable us to complete the construction then fully stocking it with affordable household items and other retail goods. My three children study at a nearby private school thus this money means we won't have to worry about where next year's school fees will come from.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is in the evening when my spouse is back home from work and my children are back from school. Spending time together as a family as we chat on what transpired during the day is so fulfilling to me.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Being an housewife, i fully depend on my spouse who is a mechanic to provide all the needs of our family. However, his job has never been reliable. He earns about ksh 200 daily Whenever he manages to secure a job at the end of the day and sometimes he comes back home empty handed. We have had to borrow food stuffs from neighbours which ends up being hard to pay for hence a big shame to us making this the biggest hardship we face.
