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 ($464 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?
The new goal that I have in life is to start a better business like opening a retail shop that will earn me more profits. With this, I will be able to use the profits to pay school fees for my children on time. I have three children and one will be joining the secondary school in May and due to this, I anticipate a lot of financial constraints. I am a vegetable vendor while my spouse depends on working for other people and we've been pooling our daily income so that it can be enough to cater to our daily needs. Having a child in secondary school will be tough for us but I believe that everything will be well.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly did a great job in the entire village by ensuring that they visited every compound. Also, the enrolment process was free and fair for all the beneficiaries. In addition, they educated us about the program and how to safeguard our transfer and we are all grateful for the financial support since it has transformed our lives positively.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Buying milk has been our norm ever since I got married. Due to this, my children had never known the joy of drinking milk daily as we had to spend KES 40 on a liter which was only enough for preparing tea. I am a vegetable vendor and while my spouse does any available casual work and we have been using everything that we earn on food. With the recent financial aid from GiveDirectly, we purchased a dairy cow worth KES 35000 and used the remaining amount on clothes and food for the family. I am happy that we no longer buy milk and our children now have enough for their consumption.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($484 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I realized that GiveDirectly had sent the promised money in the morning after I was done with the morning chores and I was taking breakfast. We became so happy as a family and since my children had already gone to school, we decided to give thanks to God with my spouse by taking some minutes to sing a hymn and to pray.
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 have been able to do an investment in terms of buying a dairy cow. Because of this, my children now have enough milk for consumption unlike before when I used to buy milk. As a vegetable vendor, I used to spend all my profits on milk and maize flour and since catering for a family of 5 is not an easy task. I am glad that I have seen the reward of my hard work of late since I have been able to save the money that I would otherwise use in buying milk and I give all credit to GiveDirectly.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We had started constructing a more spacious permanent house for my family when GiveDirectly came for enrollment but left it incomplete due to insufficient funds. When I receive ed my transfer, we spent KES 30000 to finish it by cementing the floors and buying a three-ply that we're planning to use as the ceiling. I am happy that we've started living in this house and our previous house now serves as a kitchen. Because of this, we enjoy our privacy all the time and our clothes no longer smell of smoke all the time. In addition, I spent KES 25000 on the purchase of a dairy cow. We decided on this as a family so that it would relieve us the hustle of buying milk daily like before when we used to buy 2 liters at KES 140 and we would at times take porridge instead of tea.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
In 2019 we started a project of building our 3 bedroom house, unfortunately the money we had was insufficient and we weren't able to finish construction. We moved into the house soon after it was roofed but the windows of the house and the floor is still unfinished. I plan on using KES 40,000 in buying of cement, windows and furnishings. I also plan on using KES 35,000 on purchasing a dairy cow and I will sell the milk to get extra income.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I'm grateful to God that because for the last 6 months my 3 children have been healthy. I worry for their health but none of them has been ill during this time.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
As as small business owner I face a lot of challenges one being not getting enough income. On a daily basis I get around KES 150 as profit from selling vegetables. Because of drought there are no vegetables to sell and I have to sell with the current price, but my customers are villagers and they do not understand that inflation causes us to sell our goods at a higher price. Because of this I have lost customers and I end up going back home with vegetables that perish after a day or two
