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 ($528 USD)
access_time almost 5 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 now compared to if I had never received the transfer. I am now living in a good house and producing milk from my own cows and at least my children are schooling well.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly really opened up our village making people work even harder than they were before. Currently, everyone has t least a running project which is a good thing in our village.
What did you spend your second transfer on?
I spent the second transfer on buying a lactating cow and a calf bost was worth 35000 KES. This decision was made after a hard time before when we were struggling to get milk from the neighborhood. I also bought barbed wire worth 10000 KES, two chicken worth 800 KES clothing and also a sack of maize worth 2400 KES with the remaining amount.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($530 USD)
access_time 5 years ago
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Describe the biggest difference in your daily life.
The biggest difference in my daily is that I have built a better and spacious house for my family. We used to live in a small mud grass-thatched house which could not host all my family members comfortably. During the rainy seasons, it was a big challenge because the house was leaking from the inside. My family members were exposed to cold and thus making them vulnerable to cold-related diseases. Spending nights with grown-up children is a taboo in our culture. I had grown up children and sometimes they could spend the night at their grandmother's house. Movement at night was a bit risky for them because of the insecurity. My children could not complete the assignment on time because of the movement at night to their grandmother's house. Their performance was being affected. Currently, I have built a better and spacious house. My children are no longer spending nights outside the home. They have their own room where they do the assignments on time. I no longer fear to welcome visitors to my house because I have a decent house. I am so much happy because our lives have changed to be better.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The moment I received the money I felt so happy. I remember it was very early in the morning when I heard a message from my phone. When I checked it was a message from GiveDirectly confirming that I have received 55000 KES. I felt so happy because I have never received such amount of money before in my entire life. I knew I would be able to build a better house for my family because we were living in a small grass-thatched house.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I spent my first transfer to built a better and spacious house for my family, I also brought sofa set seats, two beds and the rest of the money I used it to buy clothes and food.
Enrolled
access_time over 5 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
In my community, it is often a norm to have children sleeping over in the neighbor's house when there's no space in the parent's house. With a constantly increasing number of children, my small hut can no longer contain my family of five. When I receive the first cash transfer, I want to build a second house that will accommodate my husband and I while our children stay in the former. Receiving this money will give us the life of dignity my husband and I have always desired.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I love working in my farm in which I have grown beans and maize for subsistence purposes. Since it is the only source of food for my children, waking up to this work every morning makes me happy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Now that it is a rainy season, my children and I have not had a comfortable sleep in a long time due to a leaking roof. With no money to purchase a bed and good sleeping materials, we have had to brace the cold nights in which we some times wake up to a pool of water inside the house. My big worry has always been the fear of contracting diseases predisposed by such extremes.
