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 ($455 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?
The new goal that I have now is to save money from the sales of milk so that I can purchase a piece of land. The goal is to build rental houses and rent them out to earn some income. I will use the money to pay school fees for my children and start other income-generating activities.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
The majority of the people in our village spent the transfer well. Most have built better houses and invested in dairy-keeping projects. These are the projects that were not easy to start before since they required a lot of money. GiveDirectly has improved our standard of living. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 40,000 on purchasing a heifer. This is a good breed that I have always wanted to own for better milk production. I used to buy milk before and this was so costly for us. I could spend KES 100 and because we did not have a steady source of income we were struggling to get that. Currently, I no longer buy milk since I have a dairy cow purchased from the first transfer. We purchased this heifer so that when it gives birth in the next three months I will get enough milk for the family and sell the surplus to earn some income. I will use the money from the sales of milk to meet other basic household needs and even pay fees for our children in various schools. Besides that, I spent KES 10,000 on building an extension room. We lived in a small house that could not host all my family members comfortably, currently, my children have a room where they can sleep well without being disturbed. The rest of the money I spent on food and another household we were missing.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($473 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 around 7.20a.m and was making breakfast and my mother called asking if I have received the transfer. When I took my phone to check, I saw a pop-up MPESA message confirming a receipt of my first transfer. This was an assurance of the initiation of the projects we had been having in mind.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the purchase of an in-calf heifer. We are grateful that we are having adequate milk for consumption. I am happy that I am part of this project which has transformed my living standards.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
After withdrawal of my first transfer, I took a week to withdraw the funds since we had a plan of purchasing a hybrid fresian. I spent KES 42,600 on buying a hybrid fresian which calved two days after purchasing it. We are so happy as a family since we are enjoying a surplus of milk and currently we are milking 18liters of milk which is both for consumption and for sale to earn an extra income to cater for other household items. I also paid KES 5,000 for labor for a house that had been constructed but we had not paid after he did his work. The remaining amount, I spent the remaining amount on buying food for my seven family members.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
On receiving this money, our priority is to expand our dairy farming project by purchasing an additional cow (using KES 50000). Currently, we have only two mature cows that give us 20 liters of milk daily. So, we are happy to get another cow that will get us 10 extra liters of milk daily (worth KES 350). This will attract great ripple effects such as improved living standards and financial stability.
What is the happiest part of your day?
In January (two months ago), we acquired a lactating cow worth KES 100000. This has brought us happiness because we have been having sufficient milk for consumption and sale of surpluses. Initially, we used to miss the nutritious food (milk) when our only one cow was not lactating.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Since we are a family that depends mainly on dairy farming, prolonged droughts that are common in our area act as our main challenge. During such periods, it becomes costly and difficult to acquire feeds and water for our livestock. In that sense, I am worried that we might become overwhelmed by the challenge of running our project during dry spells.
