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 ($460 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?
So far so good and I do not have any new goals apart from being grateful in my life. The fact that I was able to seek proper medication has brought hope and joy to my entire household. I am currently doing well courtesy and this was one of my goals and I am glad that it went on well. If it were not for the support I cannot tell how my life would have been.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
According to me, GiveDirectly did a good job by making sure that they visited every needy and vulnerable household during the enrolment process. No one was left our provided he or she was a resident of the particular village. I, therefore, do not see any action or sector that GiveDirectly needs to work on.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent part of my second transfer on clearing the medical bill of KES 12000. A few months ago, I was diagnosed with first-stage cancer and I did not have enough resources to fund the medications. The money came at the correct time and I believe this was God sent. It still feels like a miracle to me because of the pains that I have been experiencing I could barely sleep at night, no appetite. I am happy to mention that the drugs have been functioning so well and I can now even handle minor house chores. Also I bought three goats and a dairy cow for a total of KES 25000. I settled for them because they require minimal supervision and their pastures are readily available. I am hopeful that very soon I will have many of them. With the remaining amount of money, I bought food for my seven family members. My husband has been the breadwinner who depended on odd jobs with meager income and most days, we used to skip meals.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($484 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
When I received my transfer, I felt so happy because I knew I would be able to comfortably support my 5 children's academics. Their school fee arrears had accumulated to KES 10,000 and I never knew where I could get the money to pay off the fee balance at once. It was at 7pm on 12/01/2022 and I was just at home preparing meals for my family. That marked the new beginning in my life since I had never received such huge amount of money. Thanks to GiveDirectly for its transfers.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my life is being able to build my own house. I had been desiring to have a better house but I could not due to lack of funds. Although my new house is not fully complete, it is relatively better than the previous one. It is spacious to accommodate all my 5 children who previously were spending in the neighbourhood. Presently, I am not afraid whenever the season change. Thanks to GiveDirectly for its support.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent my most recent transfer to buy some iron sheets, timber and nails for building a new house. The total cost for building my new house was KES 30,000. I opted to build a house because I had been living in a small but old single house. Previously I had been spending on a pathetic house from which I could always get some cold hence I was always sickling. I have already started living in my new house although it is not yet complete.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means building a better house for my family. I have a family of five children whom we spend in the same single roomed house. My spouse works as a herdsman in another village and any time he comes back home, my children are forced to borrow shelter from my neighbours. This is very shameful according to our African tradition and has made me seen as a failure who gives birth to children but have no house to keep them. I have lost dignity in the village especially to my neighbours. However, I have nothing to do because we all depend on my spouse who earns 5000 KES a month. This money is not sufficient to meet our basic needs. My dream has been to build a two bedroom house that will help my family have a better place to sleep. You can imagine the risk my children are exposed to when it rains at night and have to move from my compound to the next one at night. Upon receiving the cash transfers, I will be able to restore my dignity and my dream shall have come true.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Before my spouse got the current job as a heardsman, he used to prepare land for other people in order for them to plant during the rain season. He had done this before and he had worked for someone in the village and he was not paid. This debt has been there for over five months. Last month, my children were sent away from school due to school fee balances. Fortunately my husband had come back to visit us. He went to ask for this money from the person he had worked for and the good news is that he was paid back his money worth 3000 KES. This money helped me pay for the 2000 KES debt and buy food for my family. This made me happy as I was relieved from the stresses of raising the school fees for this term.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest challenge has been my poor health. Sometimes back, I used to engage in charcoal burning business that could earn us good money enough to meet our basic needs. However, I stopped engaging in this economic activity after having been diagnosed off Asma. This has made me become economically inactive. I am now left to depend on my husband who works as a herdsman to take care of our needs. What makes it worse is that he earns very little amount of money (5000 KES a month) which is not enough to meet our basic needs and at the same time seek medical attention. You can just imagine having a family of five children who are in school and also a sick spouse who also depends on you. This is the scenario that my family is facing currently. My ambition is to seek medical attention so that I can restore my health and get back to work. Upon receiving this cash transfer, I will use part of the transfers to seek advanced medical attention so that I can restore my health.
