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.
Learn more about how recipients opt in to share their stories.
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2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53150 KES ($467 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?
After a long time of depending on my parents to give us a litre of milk every day, I now have a new goal to buy my dairy cow. This will not only be a source of milk for my household but also a source of income since I will be selling the surplus to the neighborhood.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
It is amazing how the whole village that was marked by several grass-thatched huts has completely changed to corrugated iron sheets houses. GiveDirectly did a great job by enrolling every village member without any bias and giving us the same amount of money. This enhanced peace in the village. I have no complaints at all but am thankful that GiveDirectly came to our rescue when we needed such support so much.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
After receiving and spending all my first transfer on all that I had planned for in my household, I was glad to receive the second transfer that I spent a huge lump on buying oxen. I have been hiring from the neighborhood every time I was tilling my piece of land. That has always been very expensive and had to consider buying mine that will help in tilling my piece and my parents', and needed to also create a source of income. I was lucky to secure two each KES 20000. This was a relatively cheaper price compared to the market prices that were so high. I also purchase some foodstuff for my family of five worth KES 7000 that we used for quite sometime before exhaustion. With the remaining amount, I purchased clothing for some of my family members and saved the remaining that helped in meeting other household bills.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($499 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The moment I received the transfer I felt so happy. I remember it was 9am. I was on my farm digging. Then I heard a ringtone message from my phone. When I check it out. I could not believe my eyes, I have never received such amount of money that. It was message confirming that I have received KES 55,000 from GiveDirectly. I immediately inform my spouse and she was so happy too. I stopped whatever I was doing and went to withdrew the money. We planed on building a better and spacious house. This was the first priority since we were living in a small house. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has changed my living standard.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have build a spacious and better house. We used to live in a small grass thatched house which could not host all the family comfortably. Whenever I had visitors it was so stressful because I had no space to host them. I spend on small scale farming and the harvest that we get is only for consumption. I do casual jobs at the construction sites and the amount of money that I get through this casual jobs is so small. I was not able to save some money because of the recurrent needs at home. When I received the transfer I decided to invest on building a house for my family. Currently I no longer get stress up on where to host visitors and relatives. I have peace of mind now to invest on other projects. Were it not GiveDirectly this could not have been possible soon.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent the money I received from GiveDirectly on building a better and spacious house for my family. We used to live in a small house which could not host all the family members comfortably. I started poultry keeping project with five hens. I will be selling eggs to earn a daily income. The rest of the moneu I bought clothes and food for the family. I am so happy because GiveDirectly has changed my living standard.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means better housing for my family of 4. The house we live in now is quite small. This will cost me about Sh 30,000. I would also like to purchase a dairy cow that will give me milk to feed my two young children. Since I had discontinued my studies at a Tertiary institution nearby due to challenges in raising the required fees, it will be a great opportunity to continue my course too. This money will really go a long way in helping me achieve my certificate in masonry and by doing this hopefully I will secure better house construction jobs and hence give me more ability to save for the future.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is in the afternoon.I spend my a good part of the day taking care of my parents' cows.By afternoon,they are mostly done grazing and am assured that they will produce a good amount of milk.This is the time that I return home. At this time I get to rest and spend time with my young family and this makes me very happy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I have faced is having to drop out of secondary school because of lack of school fees. I had to join a Tertiary institution so as to learn a skill .This was going to take me a shorter time to complete and thereafter get an income generating construction job. I however dropped out on my first year again because my peasant parents could still not afford the school fees.Right now,am forced to do casual construction jobs to support my family. These jobs are unreliable-there are times that there is no construction to work on and this puts my family in a situation where their needs are not met.
