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 ($523 USD)
access_time over 4 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
One of my children was starting her high school education at the start of the year. On top of that, I have two other children in different secondary schools. All three children needed school fees and I did not have any and I was contemplating selling one of my livestock tp meet these needs. As if God was listening to me, I received the transfers from GiveDirectly which really helped me pay the school fees. As if that was not enough I was able to buy another cow using the second transfer. I am so happy that I did not lose livestock but indeed got an additional one to the ones I already have. I am so grateful for GiveDirectly.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, I loved that every household in the village was visited by the officers and all got to receive the transfer. I also loved that there is a close follow up done using calls to ensure that everyone got their transfers. I would only suggest that there should one person at the village level to always confirm if the transfers are used as they were panned to ensure that people do not lie.
What did you spend your second transfer on?
Having cleared the school fees for my children using the transfer, I decided to spend the second transfer to buy another dairy cow for rearing. This with some that I have will be a source of income from the sale of milk produced. The income will help me meet most of my family's needs. I also saved some part of it for future use.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($548 USD)
access_time almost 5 years ago
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Describe the biggest difference in your daily life.
.The biggest difference in my daily life is the ability to pay for my children's school fees without selling my livestock. I feel good I never sold any of my cows. This could be a big blow to my family since it is my main source of income. In order to ensure my children go through school successfully, I must have a constant source of income but this was being threatened. It seemed as if I was going to lose it. I am just glad that GD came to help me out of the situation.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I was extremely happy to have received the transfers Give Directly had promised us. At first, when this organization came to our village, many thought it was a scam. They thought that no one would give out such an amount of money for free. I chose to continue listening to them and took whatever they were saying after hearing success stories from the neighboring villages. Today I feel proud of myself for having listened and accepted to participate in the program. I was lucky to be one of the beneficiaries and the money saved me a lot from several predicaments. I had been stressed up contemplating selling one of my dairy cows. I was going to lose a lot but when GD came, I knew that I was going to be redeemed.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I spent the first transfer on paying school fees for my children who are in secondary school. I paid school fees at KES 30000 and bought school uniforms and school supplies at KES 8000. I then bought some clothes for the family and other personal care products. The last amount was saved in my mobile money account with an intention to use in farm care chemicals especially acaricides for my cattle.
Enrolled
access_time almost 5 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I raise livestock in my farm and this has turned out to be my main source of income. The money from Give Directly will help me improve more and more . I will start by buying a chuff cutter machine worth Ksh.30,000(300 USD). This will make feeding the cows easy and faster giving me more time and strength to do other duties. I will also use Ksh 20,000(200 USD) to improve their structures. My sheep shed is in a bad condition and therefore I will use part of the transfer to expand and make it more decent. I will then build a bigger and better store where I can store animal feeds. All these will ensure good health for the livestock and in turn high productivity.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I spend most of the time looking after the livestock and feeding them. It is not an easy job and when it's evening I am usually very tired. The happiest part of my day is in the evening. Seeing the day end well with the livestock well fed puts a smile on my face. I am usually sure that I will get milk for sale the next day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
As a farmer, I depend a lot on the climatic conditions for my success. Long dry spells and crop diseases has affected farming in this area in the recent past. This in turn has negatively affected crop production. This has made me struggle a lot in providing the family's basic needs. My biggest burden has been paying school fees for my children. I have 3 children who are still in school. I had to sell some of my property to educate two children to college level. I have now resorted to more of livestock farming to try and change things but it has not been easy too especially at the initial stages.
