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.
Learn more about how recipients opt in to share their stories.
There will be no further updates from this completed recipient.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
53010 KES ($418 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
check
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My wish is to add to my flock of livestock and poultry. Slowly but steadily, I will launch my own farm produce business and eventually dominate the market. I also dream of producing enough maize to sell. With a sack going for $60, my husband and I stand to make a pretty penny if we can manage to produce more and get it to market without middle men.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly has excelled at transformative gifting. If GiveDirectly had not stepped into the lives of both myself and my village mates, we would never have experienced the immense changes we have. GiveDirectly gave us all the opportunity to change the state we were in and do so in the manner we felt was best with the funds they shared with us.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
The funds from GiveDirectly found me at a most opportune time. I had been wanting to expand my poultry farming, and the transfers allowed me to do so. I added 5 chickens to my coup. With these new additions, I will have more produce to take to market and, as such, earn more revenue. I then proceeded to finally construct my two-bedroom house. I had long wanted to do so but had always been short of funds. Having built the house, the next big step was getting a 3,000-liter water tank and fitting it to the existing water supply at the new house. I also planned on stocking up on food. I bought a lot of maize grain to last us for awhile, despite growing some on my own farm. Despite having a two-acre farm, the drought had left little maize for harvesting. My husband, who works casual jobs on construction sites, earns $6 per day, when he can get one, and it hasn't been easy making ends meet on that. As such, the funds were a great blessing to us, even allowing me to pay in advance the $10 for lunch that is needed for our son, who just started PP1.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($444 USD)
access_time almost 2 years ago
attach_money
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The moment I received my cash transfer, I can recall that it was 4 pm when I was at home relaxing after a long day in the sun. Suddenly, I heard my phone ring. When I checked through my messages, it was then that I realized I had received money from GiveDirectly. I was so grateful for the gift that came my way that evening, and I was grateful to God. I knew this would uplift my life.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The most significant difference has been that I was able to kick off a poultry project. With this, I am optimistic about the future because I will have an additional source of income. In addition, I stocked enough food to meet all of our needs. I'm relieved that neither I nor my family goes to bed hungry. It has changed my life for the better, and I am grateful for it.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Due to our limited financial resources, my husband was forced to leave the village in search of greener pastures. He moved to Kericho to work as a construction worker. We've been blessed with one child as a couple. While I work as a farmer in the village. I never imagined that my dream would be realized so quickly because of my finances. My husband and I had begun construction on a house, but our dream was dashed when Kenya's power took our land during rural electrification. As a result, we had to start from scratch. As a result, when I first received my transfer, I used $250 to build a decent house for my family, which had previously been impossible due to financial constraints. In addition, started a poultry project worth $50, and then stocked a sack of maize worth $60. Later bought household items with the remaining amount.
Enrolled
access_time 2 years ago
What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?
We have always wanted to start poultry farming which can help us earn disposable income. We are lucky we live next to the Kapkwen market and we can easily leverage the available market. This dream has been in the pipeline but has never seen the light of the day because of a lack of finances. We are halfway glad that finally there is a light at the end of the tunnel now that GiveDirectly cash transfers are in the offing. We intend to use $150 to do the project which includes the construction of the chicken house and the purchase of chicks, and chicken feeds. We will use the rest of the money to build a better kitchen house.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Sometimes in August this year, our only cow calved and we were over the moon. It was quite an achievement for our household, we used to buy a liter of milk per day for $0.60 which is no longer the case. My boy,3 enjoys taking milk a lot and there are there is plenty and gives me joy when I feed him with the milk. At the moment we have enough for household consumption and we sell the surplus at $1.20 which helps us in purchasing other households' needs which has made life a bit better.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
At the moment we are faced with an acute shortage of food, especially maize which is our stable food. Last season the maize crops did not do well, there was drought and also the maize necrosis disease has been a problem for us for some time now. We are therefore forced to purchase the product from the nearby Kapkwen market that goes at $1.70 which sometimes is unaffordable because we are people of little means that depend on casual jobs which are erratic. This is coupled with other challenges like the cost of living which has spiraled in the recent past. It worries us a lot since we cannot afford a better standard of living than before. It seems we are going down from better to worse since we are not foreseeing any changes coming safe for GiveDirectly cash transfers which is a huge relief for us.
