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.
Learn more about how recipients opt in to share their stories.
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2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($448 USD)
access_time almost 2 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My long-term goal is to build a house and also build rental houses on the piece of land that I acquired so that I can get a lot of channels for my income.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly does well in educating us on how well we can spend the transfer. Also, the money is unconditional which gives me the freedom to spend it.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used the recent transfer to acquire a piece of land. Earlier on, we live in my father in law compound which was uncomfortable because I could not invite my friend over. I spent $500 to buy the piece of land and $3 to buy stock for my business. I am a tailor and I get $10 a day on a good day. I spend this money to buy food and save the rest for building a house. I have three children that are in school and my husband is in charge of the school fees.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($473 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The transfer message came in when I was in the city visiting my husband who lives away from home. I was so excited and couldn't wait for my husband to come back home so that I could celebrate together. I was so happy that I was going to clear debts that I had and expand my business.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Previously, I used to depend on my husband for almost everything because my business was not doing well and I couldn't do much for the family. Right now, everything seems to be running smoothly because the business is picking up well and I am able to take some of the family responsibilities. I have always wanted to be independent and I am happy that I was able to achieve this courtesy of GiveDirectly transfers.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a local tailor and I have been operating a tailoring business in the nearby village market. The business was not doing well because I did not have money to buy variety of materials and since I was not getting enough money, I was not able to pay rent for quite a long time since I was struggling to sustain the business. Being enrolled in the program was a good opportunity for me to expand the business and make it thrive so that I can help my husband with family responsibilities. I spend KES 23000 of my first transfer to settle rent arrears of KES 7000 and buy more materials for my business and spend the balance to buy motorcycle that I had already paid 70% of the price. I have already deployed the motorbike into motorcycle taxi business.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I have a tailoring business that I currently run. The revenue I make from it is not sustainable because it gives 300 KES per day which is also not consistent. Not being able to grow it due to a lack of enough capital is frustrating. My priority is to grow the business first before I consider doing other things. The growth will only be felt when I buy a new sewing machine that will cost me around 10,000 KES. We have also been planning to buy a piece of land for farming and the remaining amount of money will help to achieve this. Receiving this money will enable my business to grow hence increasing the revenue and also getting land that we will be used for farming meaning food insecurity will be a history to my family.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Towards the end of last year, we had a rain pour after months of experiencing drought. The water filled our streams which have helped us survive with our animals for a while now. This brought joy in our lives considering that before then we used to cover many kilometers in the scorching to fetch water which was very tiresome.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The prolonged drought has brought many challenges in our lives but the most challenging one is the lack of food and water. The crops we planted have died on the farm before they even produce something. This has given us a big blow and we are still recovering from it and trying to find alternative ways of surviving which is not easy considering the tough economy we are currently facing.
