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 ($462 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I recently started a retail shop business using my second transfer and it has not picked well. Due to this, I do not have any new or additional goals as of now since I am monitoring this business. I aim to continue expanding it because I was not able to acquire a variety of goods. By doing this, I will be assured that it will not collapse easily and I will continue enjoying the fruits of GiveDirectly for a long time.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly officers were very social and treated everyone equally and with respect. In addition, they gave people time to ask questions and were not in a hurry to finish the enrollment process. This depicted the good image of the organization and I do not see anything that went wrong.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used to depend on subsistence farming when GiveDirectly came for enrollment. Before receiving the first transfer, we decided as a family that we would spend the transfer to improve our living standards and due to this, we spent our savings to rent a shop at our nearest trading center so that we would use it for business. Upon receiving our second transfer, I spent KES 46000 to open a retail shop business and spent the remaining amount on food. 46k to retail shop. I am glad that with this business, I will be able to help my spouse pay for the basic needs of our family.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($484 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
My friend had called very early in the morning needing financial assistance, I only had KES 50 in my Mpesa account, when I was transferring the money to her, that was when I realized that my Mpesa balance was KES 55,000, this was the best news that I had received that morning, that was when I realized that the money had been sent the previous night, I then shared the good news with my husband who was equally overwhelmed with the news.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Finally, my husband is so happy that he can earn an income from his business, we are all glad for the great achievement in our lives, it is a dream come true, thus the biggest difference in our lives today is that at least we have a source of income, we are now hopeful that our children needs will be catered for onwards. We are thankful for the support that brought so much happiness to our lives.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
My husband has been yearning to open his welding shop for years, unfortunately, this was not possible due to financial constraints, When GiveDirectly came to our village, we knew that God had answered our prayers, therefore when we received the transfer we bought a welding machine at KES 40,000 so as for my husband to set up his business, we then used the remaining amount of money in buying foodstuffs. I am so relieved that finally, my husband will be having a source of income.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
My husband is employed as a welder at Siongiroi Town and the income that he gets is not enough to sustain us. Receiving this money will mean that we will be able to buy our welding machine with KES 40000 from the first transfer. This will allow him to have a constant source of income because he relies on any welding job that comes and sometimes he can go for days without finding any job. We will use KES 30000 to upgrade our house because our family is expanding and would mean more space is required.
What is the happiest part of your day?
For the last six months, my husband has been able to have a constant job and this, in turn, enabled me to enroll my child in a nearby school, and seeing her off to school daily has brought me joy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My major challenge is having no job to support my husband and our family. I rely on daily jobs to get money but they are hard to come by these days. This has proven difficult because at times, I do not get anything and the little that I earn cannot sustain us.
