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
53010 KES ($386 USD)
access_time 12 months ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
Since I already have 40 broods of chickens at the poultry house, I hope to venture extensively into this business, adding 60 more to make it 100 chickens. From the sales of the chicken and eggs, I will pay for school fees for my two children. Because I reared both improved Kienyeji and pure Kienyeji chicks, I will give all the eggs to the Kienyeji chicken to incubate, therefore increasing the stock. I will be glad that my family of four will have a constant source of income aside from the motorcycle taxi business that I run with passion.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly has touched the lives of more people in the community by providing unconditional cash transfers that are not loans. If you are to visit the village today, then you will see a lot of change ranging from housing to education to health. Many people utilized the transfers to acquire assets that have boosted their financial status, and now their lives have been uplifted.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
As a man of the house, I have to provide fully for my family, and we should acknowledge that without finances, nothing can move forward. To fulfill this, I spent $300 of the transfers on purchasing a second-hand motorcycle so as to venture into the motorcycle taxi business to earn income for my family of four as well as transport feed for the dairy cow that I rear. In addition, I purchased chicken for $150 for my wife, Janet, to also get some income to run her errands as well as assist in feeding the family. For the rest of the transfers, I constructed a poultry house and serviced the motorcycle. I am now happy that the family's income will double up and be constant, unlike the previous crop farming that we used to depend on but failed terribly due to the invasion of pests and disease, thus running into losses.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($419 USD)
access_time 1 year ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
For me, receiving money from GiveDirectly was a life-changing experience. I had always struggled to make ends meet, so receiving the money was a huge relief and source of gratitude for me. I could not doubt the source after reading the message and considering all the possibilities that this money could bring to my life. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I had enough resources to care for my family while also pursuing my goals. The sense of financial security was incredible, and I will be forever thankful for GiveDirectly's generous support.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The ability to expand my retail business and start a poultry farming venture has been the biggest difference in my daily life since I began receiving payments from GiveDirectly. I was struggling to make ends meet before the payments and had few resources to invest in my business. However, thanks to GiveDirectly's financial support, I was able to purchase more goods, including clothing, and expand my customer base. In addition, I used some of the funds to start a poultry farm, which, while I have yet to bring in any chickens, I hope will be a profitable venture. The additional income from both my retail businesses has enabled me to meet the basic needs of my family and even save for the future. GiveDirectly's support has enabled me to achieve financial stability, and I look forward to more transformation when I receive the second transfer.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I had hoped to start a sustainable poultry farming where I would rear indigenous chicken in a free range system, but I could not afford it because I had never had a reliable source of income. Receiving the first transfer from GiveDirectly provided an excellent opportunity to prioritize this project. I needed five rolls of chain link, three of which were four feet long and cost $75, and the other two were five feet long and cost $72. Since then, I have been fencing around the compound and am getting ready to begin the next phase of building a chicken coop after identifying a good design from a nearby farmer. I hope to start the project and grow it so that I can collect eggs and sell offspring to supplement my family's income. I have been running a retail shop in the neighborhood, and the stock has been depreciating because we have been picking our food and spending a portion of the proceeds without replacing it. With $300, I replenished my stock, which included clothes that I had not been selling before. I am glad this has brought in more customers and given us hope for a higher profit margin. In addition, I spent $49 on school fees for my child at a private primary school, and the remainder was spent on other household items that we were lacking.
Enrolled
access_time 1 year ago
What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?
My business is struggling a lot at the moment, I am afraid it might go down completely if the intervention will not be done. Since the turnover had gone down I had not been able to purchase enough stock for sale. I feel bad when a customer comes to my shop to buy an item only to tell them that they are out of stock. This transfers could not have come at a better time than this, we are so overjoyed that our business will be boosted and given a new lease of life. It is against this backdrop that we intend to $700 to revamp our business in adding more stock and fast moving goods and use the rest of the money to buy a heifer to add on our stock of livestock.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Our only cow calved last week and this has relieved us of the burden of buying milk. We were so elated when we woke up to see our cow with a calf. We now have enough milk for household consumption and our children can now enjoy sufficient milk, the cow produces 4 liters per day which we sell 3 liters and remains with 1 liter for consumption. The burden of purchasing milk for use is now a thing of the past.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I am involved in a small business within my compound, I own a shop where I sell household goods to make a living out of it. My business at the moment has hit headwinds, it is doing badly because the cost of living has gone up, and people do not have enough disposable income. Subsequently, this has affected my business too since I depend on them to buy from me. I used to make sales of up to $15 a day but of late I operate on a turnover of $5 per day. This has affected us from meeting our demands, and as a result, we struggle to raise school fees for our child who is in Emmaland primary school. I am afraid that if the situation persists we may not be able to cater to her school fees and other family needs.
