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 ($467 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?
At first, I had a goal of buying a piece of land that I shall use for farming. Although I have not yet accomplished this goal, I have saved some money, KES 50,000 for that purpose. In addition, I developed a new goal of raising chicken through poultry farming. This is a very lucrative venture that can help me raise some money for supporting my family of 3. At the moment I have about 15 fully grown hens that are yet to begin laying eggs. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for the financial support.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly does so well in doing a prompt follow-up to all its recipients. Whenever the transfers are sent, the staffs do their best to reach out to every recipient in order to get feedback on how the transfers are of help to them. This helps in informing the organization on the impact the transfers have in the community where it works. In addition, every member of my community has been open to giving candid feedback on their experiences since they received the transfer. However, there is nothing that GiveDirectly does not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
From my most recent transfer, I saved about KES 50,000 with an intention of buying a parcel of land. Although I have not bought any, I am still making some search and I am hopeful that I shall soon identify a place. Owning an additional parcel of land will be very beneficial to my family in that we shall be growing crops in it and this will boost our crop production. As a result, my household will be able to have adequate food. Previously, we had been producing crops in small quantity hence we many a time buy food from the market. Lastly, I spent the rest to buy food for my family of 3. I am so glad that the food we bought took us for about 2 months. Thanks to GiveDirecctly.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($489 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I was at home making breakfast. At 9 a.m, I heard a message notification come in. I checked my phone and was pleasantly surprised to see that I had received KES 55,000. I can not put into words how happy I felt after receiving this donation.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
I still can not believe that I have a piece of land where I can build a house that is big enough to meet my family's needs. Currently, we live in a small single-room house that can barely accommodate the three of us. We have always wanted to build another, but we have no source of income and therefore could not afford to. I'm so happy that this transfer has changed our circumstances. With the purchase of this piece of land, we are now able to build a bigger house.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Our family of three lives in a tiny, single-room house because we do not have enough land to build a bigger one on, unfortunately. This has caused me to worry for a long time since I would like to expand my family. So I was happy to spend KES 45,000 on the purchase of a piece of land. I then spent KES 9,000 on starting a poultry farming business.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
My father-in-law has a large family of 11 children (8 boys and 3 girls). As per our tradition, each of the 8 boys is entitled to inherit a share of their father's land. Unfortunately, the total acreage is very small and cannot accommodate all of us. Receiving this money means that we will be in a position to buy a quarter an acre piece of land for KES 45000 in a different village, build a house for KES 30000 and relocate there. This will reduce housing congestion in our current residence.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I got married in December 2019 and the wait for our first child came to fruition in April 2021. The joy of every couple is to have children. My baby has brought joy to our union as I can now be referred to as a mother.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My husband and I finished our college education some few years ago. Up to date, we have not gotten any reliable employment opportunities. We depend on contractual jobs like teaching to sustain ourselves. The schools being in remote settings, payment is little and so we have to struggle to fend for our young family. Our hope is to one day have an avenue of getting a regular source of income.
