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 ($491 USD)
access_time over 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 it would have been if I had never received the transfer in the I am living a better life. Through the transfer, I was able to use $120 to start a grocery and dry fish business a reliable source of income for the family, I now earn a profit of $30 from the business every 2 weeks. With this income I am able to meet my daily needs easily. Previously, I use to do charcoal burning which was very tiresome and risky since the government had restricted the use of charcoal due its negative impact on the environment. Furthermore, I was able to improve the livestock rearing through the acquiring of more livestock using $400 of my transfer.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly did well in assisting the poor households in the community by coming up with a cash transfer program that is unconditional. I don't see anything that it does not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent $400 to boost my livestock rearing activity by purchasing 2cows indigenous and 2 goats. This is my future investment for the family which will help us whenever we encounter any financial challenge in our life. I also bought some pairs of clothes for the children since they had few clothes to wear. In addition, I acquired proper beddings for the family this is because the one I had earlier had worn out and were not comfortable and my kids were sleeping on the floor.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($508 USD)
access_time over 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It remember it was around 9 am when I was at my work place selling local wine to my customers. I heard message notifications on my phone. I was shocked and happy at the same time after receiving such huge amount of money.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my life is having a new and respectable house which I have never imagine of building very soon. This is because of the minimum income I earn from my traditional wine vendor job. The income from my job was just enough to feed us and pay part of my children's school fees.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I have missed my privacy for a very long time because my house is very small. I am forced to sleep in the same room with my grown up boys which is against our culture. I spent Ksh.30,000 to construct a two roomed iron sheet house for my family. I also spent $100 to clear the fee arrears for my children and the remaining amount I bought 2 goats which is our future investment for my family.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I share the same house with my mother because she lacks a separate structure something that forces me to seek shelter from my neighbours when my father is around. This has turned me into a laughing stock and sometimes I feel ashamed even walking around the village. Receiving this money means a great relief to me since I plan to construct a separate house for me and shift with my children. This will guarantees the joy that I have lost for a long time, and to ensure this is possible, I intend to spend a big proportion of the first transfer ($400) to do this. On the other hand, I also plan to spend the entire second transfer ($550) to start livestock keeping that will enable me to sustain my family's basic needs like school fees and food. This is very possible because goats multiply fast.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My job of selling coconut brew requires me to stay awake up to 2 o'clock in the morning. because this is the time when my potential customers are available. I only find time to relax and have a better sleep in the morning when I am back from work. Hence, morning becomes the happiest part of my day since I rest a lot and get re-energized to do my work in the evening.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I work as a coconut brew vendor, a job that requires a better part of my evening hours at the selling point. This means I lack enough time to sleep and I have many times complained of cough and colds. Despite of the struggle to doing this job, I am still not able to meet most of the very basic needs like food, school fees and shelter. Therefore, the lack of a reliable source of income becomes my biggest hardship in life.
