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 ($435 USD)
access_time over 1 year ago
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How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
My heart is in livestock keeping. My goal is to have 300 layers so that I can rear them on large scale. I'm sure they'll lay eggs and multiply in number. Layers always come in handy in times of emergencies. This can cost me utmost kshs 100,000.
I also want to start grocery business. This is because nobody sells vegetables within my locality. I'm sure it will give me good income since the market is readily available. The capital I need to start this is kshs 30,000.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
Give Directly has helped a lot of people here in so many ways. We have been able to pay school fees and buy food. One thing that you do well are your follow up surveys. It is so encouraging and it shows that you care about us.
Maybe how you can do well is to expand the assistance. Offer scholarships to students and also help women with capital to start businesses.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
For a long time we haven't had a presentable pit latrine. We could dig holes ourselves or relieve ourselves in the forests. When I got my second transfer, I used kshs 20,000 to complete the construction of my latrine. My husband has a bar business, but it running in losses since he has been supporting us from that business. So I gave him kshs 10,000 to boost his business. I have 2 beds that my children use, but they didn't have good mattresses, so I bought 2 mattresses that cost kshs 10,000. I paid kshs 4,000 for my 3 children's school fees balance. I also used kshs 7,000 to buy more livestock.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($481 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I have never received handled even 5000 KES at once in my entire life and during enrollment when we were promised 55000 KES I never believed it would one day come true. The moment I saw the confirmation message that I had received the money I could not believe it. For a moment I thought I was dreaming until my daughter confirmed the account balance. This was the happiest moment of my life.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Owning a latrine is the biggest difference in my daily life since I started receiving the payments. It takes a lot of courage and desperation for one to relieve themselves in a bush. We were always afraid of either being found by people using the bush during the day or being arrested by the public health officers for polluting the environment. I am glad it is in the past because we now have a decent lockable latrine.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
The first thing that crossed my mind when budgeting with the money was my household bedding. I had a tattered mattress while my children slept on a mat on the ground. I am proud all my household members have decent bedding after spending 12000 KES on both a bed and two mattresses. I have a poultry project unfortunately, all the chickens died sometimes back due to a poultry disease outbreak. Before that ordeal, I had already dug a pit intending to construct a pit latrine because we did not have one but the project came to halt after the ordeal. We have since then been using the nearby bush as our latrine which is not only unhygienic but it is risky because of the snakes that harbor in the bush. I, therefore, spent 34000 KES on building materials and construction labor. 8000 KES I spent on foodstuffs that is enough to push my family for a while.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means a business boost to me, I rear chicken in my compound for sale. I have been having problems with where to keep them when they lay eggs. I will fence a farm where they can stay comfortable and breed easily. I will increase my chicken stock from 10 to 100 with KES 20,000 and also buy chicken feeds. With the ready customers, I can be able to sell eggs and meat to my village people. With the profit for this business, I will save it at Imarika bank and ask for a loan in the future. With the second transfer, I will look for a piece of land 50 by 100 which goes for KES 40,000 as a future investment for my children. For the remaining amount, I will buy food to feed my family of 6.
What is the happiest part of your day?
In November we received news that our main road from Bamba to Kilifi will be tarmacked. The road has always been inaccessible during rainy seasons and dusty on sunny days. You have to change clothes after using that road in both seasons. This brought joy to my life, realizing the government can also care for its people and being sure that my town will also develop in the future.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
With the prevailing economic crisis of the pandemic, my husband was retrenched from his place of work, which made me hustle to take care of the family. I had to sell all my chicken and my business collapsed because I was selling at a loss. This made my 5 children drop out of school and stay at home. Seeing my 5 children wearing school uniforms to play with because they do not have clothes to wear makes me ashamed. I do casual jobs like cultivating other people's land which is tiresome with fewer returns amounting to KES 300 per day which can not sustain my family.
