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
53150 KES ($468 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
I had started a small business of buying and selling maize in my locality a year ago using KES 3000. The responsibility of paying school fees for our children and meeting our basic needs weighed me down and I ended up spending all the income from this business on our needs without bothering to restock it. My aim at the moment is to revive it and invest more capital in it so that I can be able to meet our needs using the profits from this business.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly does well by uplifting peoples living standards in different ways through cash transfer. With the money, people were able to purchase livestock, build better houses, and paid school fees for their children among so many other things. I do not see anything that they did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a subsistence farmer and I sometimes do any available casual work in the neighborhood to support my spouse in paying school fees for our three school-going children. I had started building a more spacious house using my first transfer but left it incomplete due to insufficient funds and when I received my second transfer, I spent KES 15000 to complete it. Also, I used the KES 15000 to pay school fees for our children in different levels of education so that they would not be sent back home. In addition, I spent KES 5000 on farming by hiring a tractor for land preparation and bought enough quality hybrid seeds for planting. As a way of investing this money, I bought three goats at KES 10500 since they can easily be converted to cash and grow in number quickly. I used the remaining KES 6000 on food and clothes for the family.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($490 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was morning hours and I was busy washing clothes while my husband was pruning trees. We were chatting talking about how the transfer that we were eagerly waiting for, is going to transform our lives. Suddenly, I heard my phone which I had placed aside on the ground ringing. I stopped to check and I could not believe what I saw. I called unto my husband with a lot of excitement telling him that the lump sum amount that we had been waiting for had arrived. He was so happy to hear this as he checked the message for himself. Soon enough, we heard most of our neighbors celebrating and we joined them in the celebration.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The transfer has brought a very big difference into our lives. Our children are happy because they have enough food to eat and they are no longer being sent back home due to failure to pay their school fees. All these has only been possible due to GiveDirectly. We are so much for the help they have given us.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We spent most of the money that we got in building another house. We have only one house that we live in. The space in it was no longer enough for us. Guests visiting us usually lack somewhere to sleep while our four children lacked a proper place to study. We have always wanted to build another house but due to lack of funds, we were not in a position to. I make ropes for sale while my husband usually goes out to look for casual labor of farming. I get around KES 200 per week from the sales while my husband gets approximately KES 400 daily for days that he manages to get one. Out of this KES 200, I usually take out KES 100 to pay my merry-go-round contribution and the other KES 100 to buy a few household items that I might find missing. These moneys that we make most of it usually goes to the purchase of food since maize farming does not do well in our area.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means better education for my children.I intend to use KES 30000 to purchase a dairy cow as the one I currently have belongs to the parents and they might come for it at any time. I would rather have mine so has to feed my children and when they multiply I am able to sell them to cater for the education of my children. I will also use KES 10000 to pay school fees for my son in grade 10. Additionally, I currently live in a grass thatched hut with my husband and four children. We cook in here as well as sleep. The soot however is not favourable for my children as they study in the evening. Out privacy as parents is also invaded as children are intelligent and observant. I will use the rest of the transfers to construct a 2 roomed iron roofed house.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is in the afternoon when my children have eaten .When they are full, they are able to attend school hence gets what the teacher teaches. This boosts their performance in school as well their well being .
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
When I cultivate crops in my farm, they are affected by diseases and drought. And I am left with almost nothing to feed my family of 6. We at times stay without food as the finances we have are depleted. Therefore , food insecurity has been my biggest hardship. My family depend on my husband (who constructs houses) for provision of food as the money I earn from making ropes (KES 300) per week is channelled towards the education of my children.My husband earns KES 200 from his work and this is seasonal.
