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?
I am looking forward to get absorbed by the teachers commission service next year. This will mean that, I will be able to spend my salary on expansion of my farm business and in future I will be able to spend the income to support my family.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
What GiveDirectly does well is empowering people in the society to become financially independent through giving them unconditional cash and leaving them at liberty of choosing how to spend the money. Continue doing the great work, as I have not seen anything that you need to improve on.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
After graduating from college few years ago, I have not been able to secure a job as a teacher and I decided to concentrate on farming. My interest has been poultry and dairy farming but I couldn't afford to buy a Friesian cow and build structures for the chicken. With my second transfer, I was able to buy a Friesian calf worth $200, buy 15 chicken worth $60 and spend the balance to build chicken coops. I am grateful to GiveDirectly for the financial support since I couldn't have afforded all this on my own.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($483 USD)
access_time 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I was from the farm in the evening weeding my maize plantation when I received a message alert on my phone. I decided to read and know its contents since I had the phone in my hand. My heart was filled with joy upon seeing the good news and I immediately whispered a word of prayer to thank God for the blessings that had just come in.
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 am a proud owner of a heifer. To me, this is the best thing that I have achieved so far as I would not have done it alone had GiveDirectly not given me a helping hand. I am glad that I will not be buying milk anymore in a few years' time when it calves rather, I will earn some money through the sale of surplus.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Buying milk has been our routine and I usually spend KES 60 on a liter daily. My spouse is the sole breadwinner since I do not do any job and he depends on doing any available casual work. Due to this, meeting the basic needs of a family of four had started weighing him down and he used to strain most of the time. Because of this, we decided to spend KES 20000 from our transfer to buy a heifer and the same amount to repay a loan that we had taken when building a more spacious house for the family. I am glad that our daily expenditure will reduce once it calves since we will not be spending on milk anymore. I used the remaining amount on food, utensils, and a three-seater seat since I only had one.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means income generation through chicken keeping. I have always loved chicken keeping since it is the quickest way to earn money. When they lay eggs I can sell for money at the same time feed my family. An egg is sold at KES 10. So when I get this transfer I will spend KES 50000 as capital. KES 30000 will go into the construction of a hen coop and KES 20000 to purchase the hens. I anticipate generating a good income through eggs by selling them to meet my household needs and become independent from my husband. I am a graduate with no job and have become dependant on my husband who is a teacher. However, this is not something I am proud of as I also feel like supporting him in other household needs like food.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Our area is prone to drought and we receive little rainfall. Getting food is a challenge since food crops withers even before maturity due to insufficient rainfall. This has rendered us dependant on food vendors. I opted to plant sweet potatoes since it is drought resistant and it yielded well. This brought joy and happiness into my life since it became a good source of food and income as well.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest challenge is financial constraints. Our source of income has been one that is my husband through teaching. His earnings also are not sufficient to meet all our household needs since he still works under the Board of Management. He earns KES 7000 per month. Mostly his salary we spend on food and nothing more to save. I also graduated in 2017 and I have not been able to secure a job thus being dependant on my husband.
