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 ($493 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?
My life is different than how it would have been if I never received the transfers in that I have bought a heifer. I always buy milk from my neighbors and it's so costly for me because I do not have a continuous source of income for the family. I depend on small causal jobs in the village to earn an income to meet other basic household needs including paying school fees for my children. Currently I have bought a heifer and I will no longer buy milk when it reproduced. I will cut the daily cost of buying milk and I will save the money to pay school fees. My family will have enough milk .The surplus I will supply to the dairy shops to earn a income. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has changed our living standard .
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion GiveDirectly does well by giving money to the poor in the community to build better houses and to buy dairy cows. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spend part of the money I received from GiveDirectly to buy building materials ready to build a spacious kitchen house, I also used some amount to buy a heifer, I always buy milk daily and it's so costly for me. I bought clothes and food for the family because we didn't had enough in store during that time when I received the second transfer. Finally I saved some money to pay school fees for my daughter who is yet to join form one this year. I am so grateful for the support.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($501 USD)
access_time over 3 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was lunchtime and I was busy preparing lunch in the kitchen for my family when I heard an SMS notification on my phone. I decided to check it and to my surprise, it was an SMS saying that we had received the lump sum transfer of 55000/= from GiveDirectly. I was filled with so much happiness that I jumped up with joy on seeing it. My children were curious to know what was going on and I informed them that we had received the fortune from GiveDirectly as they had promised. The children were so happy to hear this and they started to request me to promise them to buy new clothes for them. Seeing the excitement on their faces, I agreed that I will grant them their request. I then came and informed my husband later when he arrived home of the good news that I had received. He was so happy to hear this and we thanked God together.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
It was lunchtime and I was busy preparing lunch in the kitchen for my family when I heard an SMS notification on my phone. I decided to check it and to my surprise, it was an SMS saying that we had received the lump sum transfer of 55000/= from GiveDirectly. I was filled with so much happiness that I jumped up with joy on seeing it. My children were curious to know what was going on and I informed them that we had received the fortune from GiveDirectly as they had promised. The children were so happy to hear this and they started to request me to promise them to buy new clothes for them. Seeing the excitement on their faces, I agreed that I will grant them their request. I then came and informed my husband later when he arrived home of the good news that I had received. He was so happy to hear this and we thanked God together.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
The transfer from GiveDirectly has enabled us to buy the things that we have always needed the most. I was able to buy two cows each going at 20000/=. I also bought iron sheets costing a total of 10000/=. With the rest of the remaining money, I used it in buying a bag of maize for my family’s consumption. I also bought a few clothes for my children. We have not been having cows of our own and hence we have been buying milk. Our children have been lacking milk for their consumption because the little that we buy is not enough for consumption and for preparing tea. We also bought iron sheets because we want to construct another house. We have been living in one house that is grass-thatched for too long. This house is no longer enough for us and the children to live in, we hence want another house so that we can have more space. We however no longer have the money to start the construction. We, therefore, plan to use the second transfer in the construction process.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I have a family of six members and we all live in a small grass thatched house. This house is less spacious and is unable to accommodate all of us accordingly. Receiving this money therefore means that I will be able to construct two separate houses; one for my first born son who has reached a stage whereby he is not supposed to sleep in the same roof with us. The second house will be for us to stay and sleep thus rendering the grass thatched one as a kitchen. In this way, I will have erased the shame of staying in one house with my grown up son and at the same time having no space in my house to accommodate my visitors/friends when they pass by.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My usual day starts in the morning by undertaking some household chores. I then look after my cattle in the grazing fields until noon where I come back and prepare lunch for my family. I then head to my farm to carry out some farming activities until in the evening. The happiest part of my day is normally in the morning since it is at this time that I give thanks to the Lord for giving me an opportunity to see that new day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The size of the land that I currently own is so small. I had to subdivide it into three portions; one for the house and compound, the other for cultivation and the last portion as grazing field for my cattle. Due to the small nature of the portions, the produce that I get from the farm I cultivate is hardly enough to sustain my family throughout the year. This therefore means I have to dig deep by doing some casual jobs on people's farm so as to curb the deficit. This for me is the biggest hardship I have ever faced in life.
