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
53150 KES ($491 USD)
access_time almost 3 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 now than it would have been if I had never received the transfer because my living status has improved, I now have a decent house, and with the dairy cow that I received, I am hopeful that I will have enough supply of milk to feed my children. Thanks to GiveDirectly for the support that changed my life for the better.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion GiveDirectly does everything well, everything is transparent and professional, I do not see anything that they do not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a cook in a nearby school and my income is very little which can only cater for our basic needs, I have always had a dream of building a decent house for my family but this was not possible because of my little income, With the transfer I received, I was able to build myself a house and bought a dairy cow worth KES 30,000.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($508 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
At the moment we received the transfer, we were really excited and grateful that the promise given to us way back when we were being enlisted was finally being honored. Everyone in the household was glad to know that we were finally initiating the projects we had been planning.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
With the many transformations which were happening in our village, we are glad that our household was never left behind. Construction of a new house from scratch to its completion was a dream come true. Having been living under an old rusted roof with a small space had never been that easy for me as a parent. We are currently glad that this change finally came. We have seen our new house getting complete, and now my children enjoy playing on some free space since we have not installed any new seats.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Upon receiving the money, I spent 46,000KES of the first transfer on buying construction material. Since we had nothing planned for the construction before receiving the transfer, we had to purchase all materials ranging from iron sheets, woods, and also nails which consumed a total of 46000KES out of the total transfer. During the construction and transportation of all the materials, a total of 7000 KES was spent. We had to incur all this cost since our main goal was to ensure that the construction was completed. With the small amount we were still left with, we spent on purchasing household goods which were mainly foodstuff.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money will mean a lot to me and my family. My husband and I work as casual labourers and our combined income barely carters for our basic needs. I work as a cook at a near by secondary school and get paid 7,000 shillings only. I have children who need school fees and most of the time I can't pay for their school fees fully.
When I receive this transfer I will build a bigger house and buy livestock. My house is small and my children have reached an age where it sometimes is inappropriate to share rooms as a whole family, so the bigger house will be able to accommodate all of the children.The livestock will be used as an investment for my children's education when we sell and sell milk from them.
What is the happiest part of your day?
On my usual day I wake up at 6 in the morning, prepare my children for school and take breakfast. Then head to work at near by secondary school as a cook where I spend the whole day until evening when I head back home,cook and spend time with my children. I am mostly happy in the evening because I get to rest from a long day of work and bond with my children because that is the time I know how their day has been.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I have faced in life has been financial stability, both my husband and I do casual jobs and we also depend on subsistence farming of maize and beans. Farming alone is not sustainable because of the terrain and climate of the area. We live in a hilly and rocky place which faces drought most parts of the year, this makes it hard to get good harvest and so we can not sell our produce to get extra income.
