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 ($475 USD)
access_time 3 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Yes, I have always wanted to get money to pay for my eldest son who finished his form four studies but has not been able to join college due to some fee balances at his former school. In addition, I want to have livestock of my own so that I can be able to sell milk to the other villagers and also earn a living from that.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly does well in terms of helping every vulnerable household without having any instances of biasness. With that many people within our village and even other villages can benefit from the help and also those who truly require the help can benefit.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent a huge portion of the money in clearing school fees for my son who had finished his form four studies but was yet to get his results due to the fee balance. When I cleared his fee balances I also took a portion of the money and enrolled him in a teaching college where he will continue with his studies. I also spent the remaining portion of the money in buying food for the rest of the family due to drought being experienced in my home area.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($500 USD)
access_time 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
Being a housewife, my duties entail doing households chores. Every morning, I am required to wake up early to walk 5 kilometers to fetch water for my family at the only water pan in the village. This is because we are currently experiencing drought in our area. I was on my way back from the water pan with my neighbour when I heard a loud message notification on my phone. Being illiterate, I passed over the phone to my neighbor who confirmed that it was the Mpesa message of the transfer from GiveDirectly. I felt very happy for receiving my transfer. Upon reaching home every villager was happy and celebrating receiving their transfer.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I am currently living a happy parent after accomplishing the desire of supporting my children's educational needs. With 5 children in school, funding their education was a tough task for me. This is because I am jobless and my husband is a coconut wine tapper an activity that earns him KES 150 per day which was not enough even to feed the family. Previously, my children were always out of school due to school fees something that eat away the joy of my life.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Investing in my children's educational needs has always been my ambition in life. This is because I wanted them to have a better life in the future. This dream was about to languish since they were always sent home due to lack of school fees. My elder son had completed secondary school education but he was not able to get his results and certificate for him to join the teaching course he had applied for due to huge fee balances. This bothered me a lot since I had bigger hope in him. After receiving my transfer, I spent KES 30,000 to clear his fee arrears to obtain the certificate. I also spent part of the remaining amount to complete the shopping of my daughter who was joining the secondary school and paid KES 3000 school fees for the other 3 children who primary school. Lastly, I bought enough food stock with the remaining part of the transfer since we are currently experiencing famine in our area.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
My second born son finished his secondary school level in 2021 having been delayed by the effects of coronavirus pandemic which led to closure of schools in Kenya in 2020. He managed to score grade C+ (plus) in Godoma Secondary school. He is waiting to be offered a place in any Kenya's University college. However, he is yet to collect his academic credentials from school since he has a school fee balance of 30000 Kenyan Shilling. Also, my daughter finished her primary school this year and she scored 356 out of a possible 500 marks. She has been offered a place in Kakoneni girls, Malindi but again, her fortunes of joining their looks cloudy. Therefore, receiving this money will mean so much to my children's academic journey, as I will be able to comfortably clear my son's fee balance and take my daughter to her school of choice to pursue her Secondary school ambitions.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Water has been a bigger problem in my village. I normally walk a distance of 8-10 kilometers looking for water in a the nearest water pan. I usually make two trips, one in the morning and the second in the evening. This is really energy draining and exhausting. So, the happiest part of the day is at night, just after taking my supper. I get the short opportune to sleep and at least rest my body.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Having been born in the rural area of Mitangani, Bamba, my parents could not afford to take me to hospital for a measles vaccine. My parents resorted to treat me with traditional herbs. For that reason, I developed eyes problem. The problem worsened when I delivered my second born son in 2000. My eyes aches. I have visited several hospitals at no successful help. This has really affected my economic productivity as most people sideline me when it comes to offers of casual jobs in the village and in our nearest shopping center. Indeed this has been my biggest hardship I've ever faced in my life.
