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 ($442 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?
Yes, I do have a new goal at the moment. I have a piece of land that is not underutilization at the moment and I intend to prepare part of it so that I can use it to plant some maize which we shall use for food once I get the produce. The challenge that we mostly face at the moment is the high cost of foodstuffs and moreso maize flour. Through wages from casual jobs and income from the sale of eggs collected, I believe I will be able to achieve the goal of planting maize in our next planting season,
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
What GiveDirectly did well is by giving us lumpsum money which enabled us to acquire that which we needed. Most of us spent the money so well as this is evidenced by the fact that most children are no longer sent home due to lack of school fees like it was before. Most parents spent the money to clear school fees with the money which they had received.
According to me, I never found anything that GiveDirectly did which is worth to report.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We have four children and our firstborn was joining the high school this year. For the second transfer which I received it came in handy with my plans, I spent KES 15000 on paying for his school fees and another KES 1500 on paying for school for his siblings as well. For my biggest goal which I had about acquiring a dairy cow, I spent KES 21000 to buy one as we had none. We used to buy milk for use at home and that was very costly for us. For the remaining portion, I spent KES 3000 on fixing a door for our newly built house and the rest I spent on buying foodstuffs for my family.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($477 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The moment I received my money I felt very happy.It was 7:00 in the morning and was preparing breakfast for my family when I received the transaction message.I informed my children who were very happy and jumped around to showcase their happiness.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life now since I started receiving this transfers is that now I have a good kitchen where I can cook comfortable unlike before the one I had was leaking making it hard to cook during rainy season.
My family of six are now very happy since we have enough foodstuffs unlike before we could skip some meals since we only depended on my husband who is a business man.This transfers have also reduced his expenditures burden and allowed him to spend more time with us now instead of working long hours.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent my most recent transfer to buy clothes worth 8000 KES,roofing sheets worth 14000 KES,maize worth 4000 KES, furniture's worth 6500 KES,paid school fees of KES 10000 for my daughter and saved the rest for further expenditures.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
We have a lot of school fees arrears and therefore, receiving this money will mean living a debt-free life. We have 4 school-going children; 3 are in primary level and 1 just joined secondary level. We have the burden of raising school fees because I am a housewife and we rely on my husband for upkeep yet his income is unsustainable. My husband is a hawker in the nearby town hawking household utensils earning an average income of KES 150 a day. Currently, we have school fees arrears of KES 12,000 in total and we have been wondering how to settle. Our ambition has been to settle all the arrears and lead a debt-free life. I was elated when I learned that soon our dreams will materialize through the transfer from Give Directly.
What is the happiest part of your day?
In the last 6 months, our firstborn daughter was able to join secondary school and this is what brought joy and happiness in our lives. I feel proud of having a girl child joining a secondary school which is unlikely in our area. People in this area don't value educating their children beyond the primary level especially girls which saddens me. Most girls drop out of school when they are in the primary level to be married only to languish in extreme poverty in later years due to a lack of education.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The main challenge we are currently facing is maize necrosis disease which has been with us for the past 10 years. I am sad that we have failed to find a solution to this or grow alternative crops to replace maize. Maize has been our staple food and we are currently buying maize from the nearby town which is extremely expensive. We buy a bag of maize at KES 4,000 which is hardly enough to sustain a family of 6 for 2 months. Initially, we used to grow maize on our 0.5 acres of land harvesting approximately 5 bags of it. Unlike today, harvesting a bag of maize is an uphill task and we feel unfortunate for that.
