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
55000 KES ($452 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 biggest dream would be to build a decent house for my family. The house that I currently occupy is not a permanent one. To ensure that I realise this goal, I plan on saving money from my business at least $3 per month. I am so grateful for the support that gave us financial freedom for us to uplift our living standards.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
The support from GiveDirectly brought financial freedom. We invested the money in a project that was sustainable and reliable. People were able to build houses, others paid school fees for their children and many more. In my opinion, I have not witnessed things that were not done well or those that need to be corrected.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a businesswoman, married and blessed with four children. My husband does casual jobs that come his way to make ends meet. Upon receiving our second transfer, my husband and I agreed on using the entire amount of $550 of our second transfer in boosting our business, and then afterwards using the profit in buying other households item. This is because we wanted to take advantage of this season when most of the villagers had cash flow. We knew that we had a target market. This was not easy before because we did not have money to stock up our shop because of financial constraints. Our lives have been uplifted greatly, thus we are grateful.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($474 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The moment I received my transfer, It was early in the morning when I was busy preparing breakfast for my family. Then suddenly I heard my phone ringing, on checking what the text was all about, that was when I realised that I had received a sum of KES 55,000 from GiveDirectly. This was the most refreshing news that we had received that early morning, I was overwhelmed with joy and happiness. My husband too was equally happy and grateful thereafter we embarked on planning.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I was able to boost my business. And with the profit that I made, I was able to purchase a dairy cow. I am grateful for the support that empowered me toward financial freedom.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am a businesswoman and my husband works as a casual worker in a nearby factory. Upon the receipt of our initial transfer, we saw it deem fit to invest in my retail shop business. This is because I knew that I will be able to make a huge profit out of it and then later use the profit on other things. Thus I used all amounts of KES 55,000. Later I used the profit in purchasing a dairy cow worth KES 20,000. I was unable to expand my business before due to school fees responsibilities. I am so grateful for the support that boosted my business amazingly.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am a business lady with 4 children and my husband works as a sales representative within the neighboring firm. My business collapsed in 2020 after the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic and since then I have been struggling to restart this business. Receiving this money implies a restart of the business, I plan to use KES 100000 to accomplish this.The business has been the source of livelihood for this household and it is through it that we purchased these 2 acres of land in 2012.Because I have the required skills to run the business I fully believe that restarting it will enhance financial stability for the household.
What is the happiest part of your day?
In November last year, my lovely husband was lucky enough to secure a job in a private firm within the county. This has brought happiness in my life because currently, my household can access food and other household needs. The struggles of working on other people's farm for income has ended and this makes me happy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Since 2020 financial limitation has been the biggest challenge in this household.My business collapsed in 2020 due to Covid 19 pandemic, we were unable to restock our business because of lockdown. Moreover, my husband lost his temporary job during that time and hence we had to depend on farming which does not yield well currently. It is a great struggle for us to pay our children's school fees because we do not have an adequate source of income currently.
