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.
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2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($456 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?
My new goal is to raise sufficient cash so that I can be able to send my daughter to high school. She is now in her final year in primary school therefore next year she will be transitioning to another level in her education. I believe this will be the only valuable inheritance that I will be able to offer to her since it will not only be of benefit to her but to her generation as well.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
According to me, GiveDirectly did a great job in my entire village by ensuring that they fairly enrolled all the needy households. By so doing, we now have decent iron roofed houses from the grass thatched houses, also in every compound, there are two or three goats. Apart from that, all our children are now in school. I do not see anything that they did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 20000 of my second transfer on paying fees for my son who is in his third year in secondary school. He has been staying home for almost three weeks and I was worried that this would affect his academic performance at the end of the day. As a family, we are now happy to see him back in school considering he is our only hope. We believe that once he graduates and grabs a good job, he will be able to transform our living standard. Later on, I bought bags of cement, and gravel which was purposely to renovate my house by cementing the floor. I am so glad that I will no longer be suffocating from the dust which was a result of the muddy floor. Also whenever it rains it was so hectic because I was always worried that the house would collapse. It is now a relief to us and we will not have to worry about the rains or the insecurities. With the remaining amount of money, I purchased food for my twelve family members which took us almost two weeks.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($482 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
That evening, I was headed home from my daily hustle when I received my transfers. I was so happy and I couldn't wait to get home so that we can discuss on how to spend the transfers with my wife.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Before I was enrolled in the program, I was going through tough times and I didn't have peace of mind. Ever since I received the transfers, life has eased and I have peace of mind.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
All our livestock perished during the drought season last year. I was left with nothing to call mine and I was hopeless because I couldn't afford to buy a goat or a cow due to low wages that I was earning as a casual labourer. I spend 15000 KES to buy cow, 6400 KES to redeem fees balance, 7400 KES to lay concrete floor in my house and I'm used the balance to cater for other basic needs.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Seven of our children are still in school. We have such to settle in arrears. I do not know how much we except from Give Directly but I hope to use the transfers to pay school fees. We shall use the money I make from masonry to feed and take care of other bills like health and water.
What is the happiest part of your day?
We are glad that on top of the struggle we are drowned in, none of us is unwell. We all have the energy to pull our weight and we do not take that for granted. I am in prayer for brighter days ahead and I believe it shall be well.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I am the kind of parent who values education. I will fight tooth and nail to ensure all my children have at least completed high school. At the moment, I just pay the little I get to the various schools they are in. I still have so much money to pay but I shall not give up until they finish. The biggest challenge is money.
