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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Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
20000 KES ($155 USD)
access_time 2 months ago
attach_money
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I was at home milking my goats when I heard a beep on my phone. I ignored it, thinking it was just a promotional message. About two hours later, my neighbor came to ask if I had received something. I asked, "What do you mean?" She replied, "Money from GiveDirectly." I hurriedly checked my phone, and, to my surprise, I had received the transfer. I was so excited! When my husband returned from the farm, I told him, and he was happy as well. We then budgeted the money and began spending it two days later.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Seeing my daughter stay home for two weeks because of school fees broke my heart as a mom, especially since I didn’t have the money to send her back to school. I relied on crop farming, but I lost my entire five-acre maize farm to floods. Receiving my first transfer from GiveDirectly was indeed timely. It allowed me to reduce my daughter's school fee arrears and send her back to school. I am hopeful that with the next transfer, I can clear her fees entirely and see her complete high school studies, which would bring me joy. Thank you, GiveDirectly.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We have been living without a latrine for about two years since ours was destroyed by floods. We have been sharing with our neighbor, but sometimes they lock it, and we have to beg for the key, or they are not home. We have been unable to build a new one due to a lack of funds. Although we have been doing crop farming, we face losses from issues like water shortages, and this year we lost 5 acres of crops to floods. We also have other needs for our family of six. When we received the money, we decided to buy building materials for a new toilet, costing $100. Unfortunately, we couldn't construct it at that time because my daughter, who is in high school, had been sent home for fees and had stayed home for two weeks. This situation was stressful, so I decided to use $100 to reduce her arrears, leaving $300. I plan to use the next transfer to clear the remaining fees and continue the construction of the latrine. Thank you, GiveDirectly.
Enrolled
access_time 4 months ago
What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?
We have great plans for the cash transfers. For the first cash transfers we intend to use KES 10000 to dig and build a pit latrine. This is a priority for us since we don't have one. For the remaining KES 10000 we intend to purchase food and other household goods that we will need such as utensils and clothes for our children. For the second cash transfers we intend to pay school fees for our four children who are in various institutions. With KES 45000 we will be able to pay off school fees arrears that our children have. This will help us greatly since our children will be able to stay in school without having to be sent home for school fees. For the third cash transfer, we intend to pay school fees for our four children by using KES 20000 of the cash transfers. For the remaining KES 25000 we intend to purchase a water tank and 4 goats. The purchase of the goats will be our investment going into the future. We are grateful for the money we shall receive because it will surely transform our lives positively.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My happiness over the past 6 months comes from the recent rains we received. Over the years we have not received such long and heavy rains and it has delighted me greatly because I'm able to get food such as vegetables which I couldn't grow without the rains. The rains also means we will have enough pasture for our animals which has brought a smile to our faces since we don't have to struggle looking for pasture for our livestock.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest challenge I'm facing at the moment is a lack of food. I had planted 5 hectors of maize but because of the floods I lost all my crops. This has left my family without food since this is what we were depending on for food. I have very mixed feelings because I feel happy we have received rain which is rare in our village but also feel sad because I don't have food for my family since I lost everything in the farm.
