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 ($492 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My life is different than how it would have been if I never received the transfers in that I was able to pay school fees for my children. I have three children in secondary Schoo.I depend on small scale farming to earn income to support my family in meeting basic household needs. My children were always being sent home to collect the school fees and because I didn't had money to pay on time, they would stay at home. This was affecting their performance since lessons were on going. When I received the second transfer I felt so happy because I was in a position to pay school fees on time. My children were not sent home.Their performance improved compared to other terms. I am so happy and this has given me peace of mind to do other chores at home peacefully.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion GiveDirectly does well by giving money to the poor in the community to build better houses and to buy dairy cows. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spend part of the money I received from GiveDirectly on school fees for my three children in secondary school. I am so happy because this time round they were not sent home to collect the school fees. The rest of the money I started poultry keeping project. This project will earn me an income by selling eggs.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($494 USD)
access_time over 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I called one of my children that I had chosen to be my helper to come and check the SMS alert that I had heard on my phone. I do not know how to use a phone since this is the first phone that I have ever gotten in my life. The child informed me that I had received the transfer as promised by GiveDirectly. I was immediately filled with a lot of happiness upon receiving the good news and I celebrated with my family. We gave thanks to God for what He had done to us.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
I foresee a big difference in our lives after receiving this transfer. With the house that I am building, I will no longer feel down that I do not have another house to live in. My children will too no longer suffer and they will have a nice place to study. The maize that I have planted is also going to be of great help to me. When they ripen and I harvest them, I will take some of the harvests to school to cater for payment of my children’s school fees. The rest of the harvest will serve as food for my family and hence I will not be having worries about what my family is going to eat.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
The money from GiveDirectly helped me a lot. When I received the transfer, I decided to first use part of it in buying maize seeds for planting. I did not have the money to buy the seeds and yet it is currently raining in our area and thus it is a planting season. I am also currently building another house and the rest of the money that will remain after the construction, I plan to use on buying a calf. I have always had the desire to build another house since I have been living in only one house for a very long time. Most of the money that I have been getting has been going to the payment of school fees for my children. It has thus been hard for me to do other developments in my home since I did not have enough money to do it.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I have been dreaming of building a better house. Living in a single-roomed house with a family of four is not enough. There is also no privacy for my grown-up children. I have not been able to build before because I have three children who are in secondary education and one in university yet we depend on subsistence farming for livelihood. Receiving this money will enable me to purchase building materials and pay school fees for my children.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Usually, I trade on milk. Each day, I usually traverse our villages collecting from produce. The practice is very tiresome. Hence, the happiest part of my day is in the evening when I am interacting and sharing a meal with my family because it strengthens our bond.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I have faced is raising school fees for my three children who are in secondary education and one who recently graduated from university. I depend on subsistence farming and sometimes I realize poor yields due to prolonged droughts in our area. At times I am forced to rely on fundraising events to handle the high financial constraints.
