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 ($463 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?
I had planned on completing the construction of the new house. I did not have any new goals. This was because I has started the construction much early before receiving the transfer. This had stopped at some point because I had no money for completion. When I received the transfer I felt so happy and I knew I would be able to invest in that.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
Giving money to the poor in the community to build a better houses and to purchase dairy cows is what GiveDirectly does well. This is because most people improved their standard of living to be much better than before. I do not find anything that GiveDirectly did not do well.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 20,000 on purchasing a heifer. We decided to invest in this because most of the time we used to buy milk for the family and it is so expensive. The main objective of purchasing the heifer is to get enough milk for the family in the future. Part of the money I spent on completing the construction of the new house that I had started before. I was able to purchase the tiles and cement. My house now looks so decent and I am so grateful for this. The rest of the money I spent on food and other household items. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has improved our living standards.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
55000 KES ($485 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
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Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I was busy at work when I heard a message notification and I decided to check and know who would have sent me two consecutive messages at that time. My heart was filled with joy on seeing the Mpesa message as this gave me hope that I would soon actualize my goals.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Living a life where you buy everything in the house except vegetables is very devastating. Even though I am usually home on weekends alone, the burden of buying milk for two different households was weighing me down financially. I am glad that I no longer buy milk for my daughter back at home since she gets them from the dairy cow that I purchased using the transfer. In addition, I am at peace knowing that this cow will calve very soon and I will have enough milk for consumption and sale.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I work as a tea picker in one of the tea companies in my region and this has been our source of livelihood for the last two years. I had just completed building a more spacious house for my family when GD came for enrollment. Despite not having fixed the ceiling, we had decided to start living in it and my transfer enabled me to achieve some of the things that I had not done since as I was able to spend KES 10000 to buy some three-ply and to pay for the labor. While educating my children, I had to sell all the cows that I owned when I had no other means of getting money. I am glad that GiveDirectly revived my dream of owning a dairy cow again as I used KES 35000 from the transfer to achieve this and KES 3000 to pay school fees for my daughter who had been sent back home.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means I will achieve my dream of owning two dairy cows. I sold three of the four cows that I had in order to be able to take my children to school and unfortunately 3 years ago the only one left died from a disease. Since then, I have not purchased even one cow because my wife and I are casual labourers and at the end of the day we earn an average of KES 300 which is hand to mouth only enough to cater for food and school levies. I will be very happy when I get this transfer as I plan on buying two dairy cows at a cost of KES 35,000 each. My projection is that in about two years time it will be producing about 12 litres of milk that I can sell at KES 30 per litre, earning me approximately KES 10,800 per month .This will be a stable source of income to me and my family. I can comfortably take my two sons in who are in primary school through to University level.
What is the happiest part of your day?
The wish of every parent is to live to see their grandchildren, and I am thankful to God for blessing me with two bouncing grandsons. In August 2021, my first two grandchildren were born in thesame week and that has brought me joy in my life and I feel my years on earth have been added. I spend most part of the day with them and I am happy seeing them grow up well.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest challenge we are facing is lack of food and proper nutrition. We live in a semi-arid area and our land is not productive. It has been 10 good years since we had a bumper maize harvest. We are forced to purchase foodstuff which is very costly when feeding a family of seven. We spend about KES 250 out of the KES 300 per day to buy maize meal, vegetables and milk. We hardly have a balanced diet and this has affected the growth and development of my 10 year old daughter.
