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 ($502 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?
A big percentage of my cultivable land used to stay idle because id di not have the ability to cultivate. I used to hand dig only where I can and leave the rest. I am glad this changed recently when we received the transfers from GiveDirectly. I was able to cultivate the whole portion of my land and plant hybrid maize, which had never planted. I am also grateful that I was able to start a poultry project which will help me maintain the cash flow from the sale of the eggs produced. Generally, my life has improved for the better.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
I loved that GiveDirectly gave us the aid in form of cash to help us with our specific needs as compared to getting specific items. It was well planned that everyone gets their transfer straight from GiveDirectly as it reduces the risk of misuse by middlemen.
What did you spend your second transfer on?
I bought iron sheets in preparation to build another house using part of the second transfer received. We have been using a single room and I already planned on buying a bigger house then use the old one as a kitchen. I saved the rest of the transfer to use for payment of labor and other materials that may be required for building.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($545 USD)
access_time almost 5 years ago
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Describe the biggest difference in your daily life.
Since we first received the transfer, We have been enjoying a really good life - something which we never thought we will ever enjoy. Many things changed in our household and toping and personally in my daily life is the comfort that I am currently enjoying.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
Upon receiving the money from GiveDirectly, we really were very happy that the much-awaited favor was finally on our hands. We celebrated and thanked God who brought the organization into our village when we really needed such help.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
After receiving the first transfer from GiveDirectly, it was a household decision that we spent the first part of it on buying a cow. This idea came up after a long struggle looking for money to buy milk which still has never been enough for the household. The budget allocated to milk have been so straining that we would sometimes go for some days without milk. We then saw it good to spend 35000 KES on the same. With the remaining amount, we spent 5000 KES on establishing a poultry farming unit and the remaining on foodstuff and other household goods. We are now feeling good that we can sell eggs as well as the surplus milk produced by our cow after setting aside some liters enough to serve us for the whole day.
Enrolled
access_time 5 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I currently live in a small hut with my children.Being a single parent,all household needs depend on me and most times there is never enough money to buy food as well as construct a new house.With my four children growing,the room is becoming too small to accomodate the five of us and I have always wished to build an iron-roofed house.I see this as the perfect opportunity because I do not think I will ever receive such a large amount of money.I also intend to build a poultry house and buy some chicken for rearing.This will in turn help me in meeting the day to day needs of the household by providing an income source through egg sale.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Everyday,I wake up early to prepare breakfast before going to the farm.On most days,I go to work at a neighbour's farm so that at the end of the day I will have money to buy food.There are days when there is hardly any jobs to do especially during dry seasons and this means there will not be any food in my house.Whenever I get a job to work on,am always very happy because I know that I will be able to go back home with some foodstuff for my children.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I have faced is providing for my family of five alone.In a household with young children,there is constant need for money at hand i.e. for food ,medical purposes etc.Since am a single mother,my parents gave me a ¼ acre piece of land to till and plant food crops.I have been planting maize in it but most often I do not get a harvest due to prolonged droughts and crop diseases.This has then exposed my children to hunger and even though I often look for casual jobs,what I get from them cannot meet all their needs.This has been the biggest hardship I have faced.
