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 ($436 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?
Buying an additional parcel of land would be my next investment in the coming years and I would also wish to build a decent house for my family. I am looking forward to realising this dream once I am recalled back to work. I believe that this would be easy to accomplish with a stable source of income.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly's support has generally improved our people's lives and standard of living. When the organization conducted community sensitization, we got excellent training on how the program operates, where the funding came from, and all the stages they would walk us through, beginning with the census stages. In my opinion, there were no flaws or issues that needed to be corrected.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Life was unbearable in the village because I had lost my job at a flower farm due to the Covid pandemic. It forced me to return to the upcountry because I could no longer sustain myself in the city. Fortunately, GiveDirectly came to my rescue, where it promised us an unconditional transfer. My husband is a casual labourer and together we have two children. Upon receiving my second transfer, I opted to invest in a dairy cow to reduce the cost of buying milk, which I used for $200. This would enable me to cut down on the cost of milk, which was expensive where Two litres sell at $1. Secondly, I renovated my house with $150 and lastly bought foodstuffs with the remaining amount. The support from the organization amazingly changed my life to a higher one, thus, I am grateful.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($481 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 the transfer, I felt so happy. I remember it was around 6.14 pm and I was fetching some firewood to use in preparing dinner when I received the message notification. I felt so happy because I knew that I would be able to finally build a kitchen for my family. I immediately called my spouse and informed him about the good news and he was equally overjoyed.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
There's been a big improvement in my life ever since I received the transfer and I am foreseeing a continuous change. This is because I now have a spacious kitchen and a calf. Due to this, I get to make our meals on time without worrying about the smoke that will fill the room as a result of using firewood. In addition, the calf is an investment that will enable me to earn some money through the sale of surplus when it reproduces.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
My daughter is in an academy and despite being the only child, she was constantly out of school since we were not able to pay for her school fees on time. This is because I depend on farming while my spouse who is the breadwinner for our family works at the construction sites in Nairobi and he has to pay for house rent, water, and electricity bills and transport to and from work. On receiving my transfer, I spent KES 8000 to clear fee arrears for my daughter so that she would not be sent back home and also used KES 25000 to build a more decent kitchen for my family. I settled on this since we had been using a section of our sitting room as the kitchen and it was difficult making meals when having visitors around. In addition, I spent KES 15000 on the purchase of a calf and used the remaining amount on food, clothes, and other household necessities.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
My ambition is to have better housing but we do not have a stable income in our family. My husband is the sole breadwinner of the family, he works casually on construction sites to earn a living. This job pays him KES 12000 monthly which is insufficient for the family. I will therefore set aside KES 80000 to build a kitchen made of iron sheet and renovate our main house. This will make me feel good whenever I have visitors. To enable me to support my husband on family income, I will consider buying a cow with the remaining money to tap more income through the sale of milk. Milk is in high demand in our area and there is a ready market.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My husband bought me some goats in the last six months, these goats have greatly helped me pay school fees for my daughter. I experienced an extreme financial challenge in October and I was about to pull out my child from self-sponsored primary school to a government-sponsored primary school. Luckily, I sold two goats and paid school fees. This made me feel happy as my child was able to continue with their studies.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I admitted my daughter to a private school for better education, but this has come with high costs and high family expenses. We are now crippling to pay her school fees and support her education considering that we do not have a stable source of income. My husband earns about KES 12000 monthly which is not enough to support us.
