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 ($465 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?
I have five acres of land but I have been utilizing fully only two points of land where I have been planting maize due to lack of funds to use in acquiring farm inputs and for land preparation purposes. Because of this, we usually purchase maize throughout the year and it is costly. At the moment, the new goal that I have in life is to increase the size of land under maize cultivation. This will guarantee food security to my family throughout the year and I will not be straining anymore doing some menial jobs around the village.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly did a great job since they delivered both the transfers they had promised. This was because they gave us a helping hand to achieve most of our goals that had seemed impossible before. Due to this, I am now a proud owner of a dairy cow. I have never heard anyone in my village complain nor do I have anything that I was not pleased with them.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I depend on casual work and I usually spend all the money that I earn on the basic needs of my family. Having milk on the list of items that we buy daily did not make life easy either as we had to spend KES 40 daily on them. In addition, we recently shared our family land but I had not been able to fence it due to a lack of funds. With the transfer, I was able to purchase a dairy cow worth KES 30000, spent KES 6000 on barbed wire, KES 5000 on poles, and KES 3000 on the labor of fencing my farm. I used the remaining amount on food and clothes for the family.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($491 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The anticipation of receiving unconditional financial aid made me so happy when GiveDirectly officers came for enrollment. I was the happiest person the day I saw the Mpesa message and after checking my account balance to verify that it was indeed true. I remember very well that I was at home fencing my farm and received this news and I immediately informed my family who were equally overjoyed on knowing that our lives would soon transform for the better.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Being able to purchase a calf has made my daily life different since I now have hope that I will one day not be buying milk from my neighbors anymore. In addition, it is an investment to me that I can rely on when it calves though it will still take time and I will be using money from the sale of surplus to meet our basic needs. I am so grateful to GiveDirectly for how they've impacted my life and that of other people in my village.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Upon receiving my transfer, I used KES 25000 to complete the construction of a house that I had started building before enrollment but left it incomplete due to insufficient funds. In addition, I spent KES 15000 to equip this house with furniture, mainly seats, and tables. From the remaining amount, I spent KES 5000 to buy a calf as a way of investing this money and spent KES 9000 on food and clothes.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money will mean a lot to my family and I. I plan to use KES 20,000 to finish a house that I had started to construct because it stalled due to lack of money. I also plan to use KES 20,000 to pay for my son's school fees since he is completing high school, fence my compound and buy a cow with KES 30,000 since the one I had was given to me and the owner might come back for it.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The happiest part of my day is at night because I get home, shower cook for myself and rest after a long day of working.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship that I have faced is having no job to do. I depend on manual labor to pay for my son's fee which a time is difficult because the jobs pay little money for my upkeep and paying for his school fees.
