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
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?
My new goal now is to save some money from the casual jobs that I always do to buy a dairy cow. This is because I always buy milk daily and this is so costly for me. I spent KES 50 per day on milk. Buying a dairy cow will m enable me to save the money that I could have used on buying milk for other household basic needs.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly has improved the living standard of so many people in the village in that they have build better houses. Most used to live in grass thatched houses but now they have decent houses. Besides that, most have started small business that earns them some income daily. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I lived in a small grass thatched house which was leaking from the inside. Building a better and spacious house was my priority. I spent KES 25,000 on building materials, I was able to build a decent and spacious house for my family. We are so grateful because were it not GiveDirectly this could have taken quite sometime to achieve. I spent KES 15,000 on purchasing a heifer. I buy milk daily and this is so costly for me since I do not have a stable source of income. I depend on casual jobs and small scale farming to earn an income. When it reproduces in the next few months I will get enough milk for the family and cut the daily cost of buying milk. The remaining amount of money I spent on food and other basic household items that we were lacking at that particular time.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($468 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I was extremely happy and thankful when I first received the first transfer that I confirmed after receiving a message. It was around 9:00 PM and with my children at home, we could not hold back our celebrations as we had been anticipating such a great day since I was enrolled. Since it was already late, I could not bother withdrawing but waited till the next morning when I collected from the nearby shopping center.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Clearance of school fees and the boost on the construction of our new house have brought relief and the biggest difference in my daily life. It has been hard raising enough money to pay my children's school fees in full, but GiveDirectly made it easier for us. I am grateful and looking forward to making other changes when I receive the second transfer.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
After the enrollment into the program, we had a discussion in the household on how best we would spend the money once received. On confirmation of the receipt, we had already aligned everything and had to withdraw part of the money and deposited KES 20000 to the school account to cover the tuition fees and school uniforms for my daughter, - currently in secondary school. We also had a construction that was on and had to boost the purchase of the construction materials with KES 15000. In addition, I also needed some furniture and had to add a piece worth KES 5000. I am glad that the construction is running smoothly at the moment and hopeful that the second transfer will make its completion even easier. I also spent KES 1000 on land preparation, obtained new pairs of clothes and bedding for my family of six worth KES 7000, and the remaining amount on foodstuff that we are still using in the household.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means that I will be able to complete building the family's main house. I started living independently 15 years ago and not so long after I got married and we have been blessed with 4 children, 2 teenagers and 2 toddlers. I started off small because I had no sufficient income so I built a very small house with only one room. The family has since grown and the house we had was no longer enough to accommodate all of us especially now that some of the children are teenagers and they need some privacy on how they live. As their parent I felt ashamed to be sharing the same room with them that's when I built the main house. It didn't cost me a lot of money because I already had timber trees which I had planted several years back. I just had to buy iron sheets and nails. When we roofed the house I moved in immediately despite that it does not have any windows fixed yet. It is also not yet insulated and it makes it so cold at night but I have to put up with the situation because it was urgent to have separate housing for the teenagers. We now feel lucky because you have enrolled us in the program and we hope to use the transfers to put some windows, cover the flooring, insulate and put a ceiling to the house.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I was happy when we managed to build the new main house in a period of one week. I was doubting my financial capability first but I was glad that I managed to roof it with the money that I had.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The demand for more resources as the family grows is a big challenge here. As the children grow I am needed to pay more school fees and we need more food. The income continues decreasing because we depend on maize farming which has been affected severely due to new crop diseases which the local agricultural office do not also understand. The cost of living keeps rising sharply almost daily which makes life so difficult.
