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 ($418 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My goal would be to secure a parcel of land that would add two to the one I already own. This is because the one I have is small. This goal would be achievable once I had finished paying my children's school fees. It may take some time, but I am confident that I will succeed.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
The operations of GiveDirectly were smooth and insightful. During the compound sensitization meetings, the officers introduced the program well, taught us what we needed to know, and allowed us time to express our opinions, which were treated with the utmost respect.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
When we got our transfer, one of our top priorities was to buy a dairy cow. This is because we had sold our only cow to pay off a loan that had been pending for a long time. It was difficult for us because we needed to buy milk on a daily basis but our sources of income were unstable. My husband is a motorcycle taxi driver, and I sell vegetables. Together we have five children. Therefore, we used $400 on a cow, and then later we used the remaining amount on buying foodstuffs and clothes. So far my life has been impacted in a short period of time and thus, I am forever grateful for the support.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($470 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was around 3 pm I was from the farm when my spouse called me. He told me to check the phone if I have received the money from GiveDirectly. He said that the neighbors had received the transfer and they were celebrating. When I checked the phone I could not believe my eyes there was a message confirming that I have received a sum of KES 55,000 from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy because I have never had such an amount of money on my phone before. It was one of the happiest evenings I have ever had. We planned with my spouse how to spend the money and went to withdraw the money the following day. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has changed our living standards.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that we have added more stock to our business. We have a business selling motorcycle spare parts at the shopping center. My spouse runs a spare parts retail business and repairs motorcycles. This had been our main source of income for our family. We depend on this to meet all our daily basic household needs including paying school fees for our children in various secondary schools. Because of this, our business had gone down due to the dependency rate. We had always wanted to add more stock but it was not possible because of the recurrent expenses at home and school fees. When we received the transfer from GiveDirectly we felt so happy because we knew we would be in a position to do this. Currently, we have enough stock and our customers are very happy. We get higher profits compared to previous days. We are so grateful for the support because were it not GiveDirectly all this could have taken quite some time. GiveDirectlty has improved our living standard to be much better than before.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 20,000 to add more stock to our spare part retail shop. We are so grateful because currently, we make higher profits compared to previous days. We can offset our bills easily and meet other household basic needs on time. I spent KES 10,000 on purchasing building materials and I was able to build a house for my son. He is so happy because he has a nice house and he can study and do his assignments without being disturbed. I spent KES 10,000 to pay school fees for my two children in carious secondary schools. They are studying well without being sent home like before. The remaining amount of money I spent on food and other basic household needs for the family. We are so grateful for the support.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I sold my only cow to repay a loan that I had taken from microfinance. I have close to two years of buying mill every day for my family which is costly. Receiving this money will be a relief to me since I will be able to buy a dairy cow that will give us milk and cut the cost of buying milk, that is, KES 40 every day. I plan to build a small one-roomed house for my son with KES 40,000 since he does not have a place to sleep.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I was very happy when I delivered my baby in February since he brought us joy. Seeing my family happy and the baby happy has brought me joy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Food security is the challenge that I am currently having because of the rising food prices and the unavailable source of income for buying food.