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 ($518 USD)
access_time over 4 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I am proud to own a cow in my homestead courtesy of GiveDirectlyt. I struggle to bring in assets that I can take pride in and lean on in case of financial needs but this had not been possible due to scarce resources. My income has been too small to cater for both household daily needs and investments. I am currently keeping a cow with an aim that once it reproduces, I will have offsprings which to me which I can always depend on in case of any financial crisis. I will enjoy milk for both household consumption and sales to earn an income to support other family needs. To me having added this cow in my homestead gives me the biggest difference in my daily life.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
We have been able to provide for our families effectively, purchasing livestock as assets and most importantly, building better iron-roofed houses thus enjoying good shelter courtesy of GiveDirectly. Since the first meeting done by GiveDirectly, every subsequent event unfolded smoothly according to the said standards. We were well thaught and informed on various good ways we could spend the transfer. We chose on our own how to spend the transfer and today I can look back and smile on the various way I used the money.
What did you spend your second transfer on?
I made a decision to invest part of the transfer through buying of s cow worth KES35000. I made this decision so that I can be enjoying milk at the household level and for sales to earn an extra coin. In addition, I used 3000 to settle fee for my children to allow them to have ample time in school to study. I spent the remaining amount on my household living standards improvement. I used KES3000 to buy a mattress to replace an old one I had, KES2500 to buy a water container to help in harvesting clean rainwater that I can use for domestic purposes, KES5000 on our clothing to add to the few we had and KES 6200 on my household daily basic needs.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($542 USD)
access_time almost 5 years ago
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Describe the biggest difference in your daily life.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the fact that I have had peace of mind with my family. I was so stressed seeing my family living in a small grass thatched house that served as kitchen and main house at the same time. I had always had this desire of building a bigger and better house but the dream was never to be until I received transfers from GiveDirectly.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I felt so happy the moment I received money from GiveDirectly. I lost sleep from then on. When morning came, I prepared tea for the family but I had no appetite myself. I could not wait to actualize all the plans that I had put down on paper.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I used all of my recent transfer to build a new house. The house that we were staying in was so small and served as a kitchen as well. I always had the desire of building a new house but I was not stable enough to save up and build one. GiveDirectly transfers came in handy to help me accomplish this task. I feel so much indebted to GiveDirectly for enabling me accomplish this dream.
Enrolled
access_time 5 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
When I got married as a second wife,my spouse bought a 0.1 acre piece of land for us to live in.In it was a small house in which my family lives in right now.This small house serves as both the main house as well as kitchen and is often congested.In addition to this,I have to use charcoal as fuel and this is often expensive and hard to find.Receiving this money will enable me build a separate kitchen where I can be able to use firewood as fuel.This will help us cut costs because firewood is readily available in the village.I also intend to buy a cow and some chicken so that through it my family can get an income.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Since I do not have any farm to work in,most of my day is spent doing household chores.I also spend most of my time looking after the children because they are still very young.Life has been quite difficult most especially meeting the needs of my family and this often makes me sad.However,am happiest during the day as I spend time with them.With their father far away at work,having them around me makes me less lonely.This is the happiest part of my day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The piece of land bought to us by my spouse is only enough for the homestead.There is no space left for any farming activities.As a result,in order for us to eat,there has to be money at hand to purchase food.There are times when there is no money since we fully depend on my spouse who has an unstable job far from home.Life would have been far much easier if I had space to plant food crops and even keep a cow.I know that by doing this,providing food for our young children would have been easier and less costly.However,this has since continued to prove impossible because we cannot afford to buy land.Raising my family under these circumstances is the biggest hardship I have faced