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 ($459 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?
I am grateful for the support from GiveDirectly which has brought quite a great transformation not only in our household but also in many households within the village. A lot has improved right from the housing to the clearance of school fees for our children in various schools. At the moment, I have no new goal but to pray for the success of the already initiated projects.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
I am grateful that GiveDirectly managed to reach out to every household within the village which resulted in the receipt of the transfers. In my opinion, giving us money was the best initiative as we managed to make individual decisions that addressed our immediate challenges. The approach was fair in that everybody had a chance to welcome the officers in their homes and later receive the same amount of money.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
On receiving the second transfer, our household plans were well set and we already had a fixed mind and wasn't hard for me in distributing the received amount in the projects I had. I had to set aside KES 35000 which will be useful in settling school fees for my daughter who is yet to join her 8th grade. I am thankful that I received this money when I needed it the most to facilitate the transition of my child from the free public primary school to form one where I will be required to pay a lot. In addition, I am planning to spend the remaining amount once my daughter has gone to school on the purchase of foodstuff and clothing for my family of four. Initially, I had been dependent on farming but in the recent past, farming has been unproductive forcing everyone within the village to buy all foodstuff from the nearby markets. I will also consider bringing in some chicken that will be helpful in the daily collection of eggs that will, in turn, be an additional source of income.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($484 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was early in the morning and I had just woken up.I had switched off my phone and when I immediately received Was happy and knew all my plans would be accomplished.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Construction of a new modern house has been my greatest difference since I no longer suffer during the fun.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used a huge amount of my first transfer to improve our house.We had been staying in a grass-thatched single room which we use both as a kitchen and as a bedroom. With Kshs.50,000 I used to buy some building materials: timber, labor, ceiling, nails. I am happy that the house is at its final stages.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
In 2013, my father inlaw allocated my family some space to construct a house. However, the soil here is waterlogged and when it rains, it retains a lot of water that oozes into the house and destroys the mud wall. When we constructed this house, we never thought that such a misfortune will befall us so we have always wanted to replace the wall with bricks. Unfortunately, we have not had enough finances to complete this task as the family depends on my husband who is a cook, to raise both food and school fees for the children. Therefore receiving this money will mean a comfortable shelter for my family of 4 as I intend to use KES 50000 to renovate the walls and use the rest of the transfers to pay school fees and purchase food for the household.
What is the happiest part of your day?
In my village, we always have a merry go round each week that consist of 50 members who contribute KES 350 each. I was delighted in September when it was my turn to receive the cash. I was privileged to receive KES 28000 which I used to purchase an additional dairy cow that is currently providing milk for my household.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Drought and hunger is a challenge I am currently facing. The climate has been inauspicious for the crops as we experience long onsets of drought hence the maize has been affected with the necrosis disease. When we cultivate the maize, we barely harvest thus we have resolved to purchase food daily. This is somewhat draining financially for my family depends on my husband who is a school cook for the provision of basic needs such as food, clothing and school fees for my 2 children in grade 8 and preschool. He earns KES 8000 a month, which saddens me that it can not cater sufficiently for all these needs.
