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 ($465 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 have been running a lot of activities since receiving my first and second transfers. After settling my children's school, I now have a new goal of buying a water tanker that I can use to harvest water during the rainy season.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
The initiative Givedirectly took was very bright. They sent their Officers who were very polite and equipped us with all necessary knowledge on where the funds are generated. I do not have any complaints since all took well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
On receiving the second transfer, all we had agreed with my wife was to spend on settling all the children in school. With Kshs.17,000 we used to pay tuition fees for our son who was joining college and had no hope of joining since we were not sure whether we could get money to enroll him. We also spent Kshs.12,000 to buy shopping items for settling in school. We are grateful that he is now settled in school and has ample time to study. I also spent Kshs.12,000 in clearing term fees for my child in high school hence he was able to study without being sent home. With the remaining part of the money, we distributed to the two of them for transport purposes.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($498 USD)
access_time 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I heard the message notification on my phone at around 9 am as I was relaxing after taking breakfast. I was overwhelmed with joy upon reading it as it was a Mpesa message confirming that I had received the transfer that would change my life for the better. I thank GiveDirectly for the aid and I pray that it may reach many people who are like me.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Before receiving my transfer, I was always full of stress since my daughter had completed her secondary school education but I had no money to use in paying for her university fee. Due to this, she was always devastated and I had to plead with her to wait until her younger siblings who are still in high school would complete their studies so that she would continue with hers. Currently, my life is different as I am always happy. This is because I was able to pay for her college fee using part of the transfer and I am glad that she has been able to pursue her dream even though it is a diploma course and not a degree as she had always wanted.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I have three children who school in our neighboring secondary schools and I depend on dairy farming and doing some menial jobs in the neighborhood. Because of this, I was given a tender in one of the schools where I supply milk to them, and in turn, they deduct my daughter's school fees from the amount I am supposed to be paid until all her school fees as been cleared. Upon receiving my transfer, I spent KES 31000 to buy a dairy cow, KES 17000 to pay school fees for my daughter who was joining college and used the remaining amount to buy her a smartphone after topping up some amount. I decided to buy this dairy cow so that I would increase the amount of milk that I will be supplying to the school so that I can clear my daughter's school fees on time.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am a livestock farmer, mainly keeping some goats and cows. However poor rainfall makes it very difficult to have a profitable venture from simply grazing the animals on the land. The only way is to improve how to do it by having a water storage tank and a chaff cutter that will make more feeds available for livestock, mainly from crop residue such as maize stalks. But I focus on education for my children whereby, I spend all my income from a small business on paying school fees. To improve my farm, I will spend about KES 30,000 on a Chaff cutter and KES 30,000 on a plastic water tank. I expect to increase my milk production from 10 liters to about 30, bringing my income to about KES 30,000 per month. I will be able to meet my child's education needs using this and also improve my home by building a better house.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is in the morning. This is because I am still fresh and free from stress at this time. I usually go through the rest of the day, accumulating stress and strain from working to provide for the family. I therefore consider morning as the happiest part of my day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I face is financial constraint. I earn about KES 500 once a week from my sheep trading business. This is because the livestock auction is open only every Monday. This income is consumed on household items such as sugar. In order, to raise school fees, I have to sell some of the livestock I keep, further reducing my household income. At the moment,I have no animals left to sell, forcing my children to stay out of school, missing classes which worries me a lot.
