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
55000 KES ($457 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I do not have any new goal currently, I am only focusing on horticulture farming. This is because the main goal that I had was to build a better house and I have done it well. I will do farming to get enough food for my family and cut the daily cost of buying food which is so costly.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
Giving money to the poor in the community to improve their standard of living is what GiveDirectly does well. Most of the people were able to invest in daily keeping projects and build better houses among others. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 50,000 on completing the construction of the new house that I had started using the first transfer. I was able to buy cement, sand, and other materials that were needed. I had started the construction of a permanent house but it stopped at some point due to a lack of money. I was so worried since I had no other source of income. When I received the transfer I felt so happy and I was able to complete the construction and move in with my family. We lived in a small house that could not host all my family comfortably. Currently, we live happily being any worry. The remaining amount of money I spent on food, clothes, and other basic needs.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($481 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was 4:43 pm and I was at home busy trimming the flowers when I suddenly heard my phone ringing notifying me of a new message. I stopped to check it and I could believe what I was seeing. It was an SMS saying that I had received KES 55000 from GiveDirectly. I was so happy and I immediately shared the good news with my wife who had just arrived from her place of work. She was so happy on hearing this and we celebrated together giving thanks to God. A few minutes later is when we heard our neighbor celebrating saying that he had received the transfer too. That day was the happiest in our village.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The transfer brought a big difference in our lives as a family. It enabled us to continue with the construction of the house that we had left pending for a while due to a lack of money. We have not fully completed it but at least we are somewhere. We also managed to buy enough bags of maize for our consumption which is going to push us for quite some time. We will hence no longer incur a lot of costs buying it.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We spent most of our recent transfer on continuing with the construction of a house that we had left pending for a while due to lack of money. We bought iron sheets, bags of cement, and we paid for the labor where we spent approximately KES 45000 of the transfer money doing so. We have not fully completed it but we are glad that we are somewhere. I had been casually employed as a teacher by the school board of management but I lost my job. Life became tough after that, but luckily, I had bought a few sheep while I was still working and that is what has been helping me whenever I face an emergency and I do not have money. My wife on the other end is still working casually as a board of management teacher. The money that she gets paid is what we usually use in buying food and essential household items. We also bought 3 bags of maize for our consumption at a total cost of KES 9000 and with the remaining amount, we used it in buying clothes for the children and a few household items such as sugar, salt,
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means that I will complete the house that I alread started building. It is a kitchen house which is very important,but I am forced to currently use a temporary shelter made of a few iron sheets and canvass materials. I will spend about KES 40,000 to complete the kitchen. I will then put up a poultry house at KES 10,000 and to buy chicken at KES 20,000. This project will be a constant source of income. It will save me a lot, given that I do not have a job at the moment, making it difficult to provide for my family. I will also buy a dairy cow to make additional income from selling milk.
What is the happiest part of your day?
In the last 6 months, the birth of my firstborn child, 2 months ago, has been the greatest source of joy in my life. I am so happy to have started my own family, and look forward to giving them a good life.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest challenging right now is food insecurity. I have no income given that I lost my teaching job when COVID 19 started. Since then I have lived on selling sheep that I rear ,in order to buy foodstuffs. I also practice subsistence farming. Before I get a job, I will still have a hard time providing for my family.
