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.
Learn more about how recipients opt in to share their stories.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I felt so happy the moment I received money from GiveDirectly. I was at home and it was around 5:00 pm that day when I received money from GiveDirectly. I did not share the news with anyone since I was careful not to fall into the hands of fraudsters. I went and withdrew the money the following day and bought a dairy cow with it.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the investments that we have made. The fact that we are almost building a better house and the dairy cow that we bought is going to help us a great deal. These investments have made me feel happy having helped my husband to make things happen. He has always struggled to make ends meet for us ang this was a boost for him in terms of what he wanted to do. Our family is much happier than we were before we received money from GiveDirectly.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We used KES 35000 to buy a heifer that is about to have its first calf. I used another KES 15000 to buy pieces of iron sheets as we look forward to building a bigger and better house for our young family. My husband works far from home and the kind of job that he does has only been able to provide us with just enough to feed our child and meet other minor needs of family like clothes for my child. When we received the money we thought of buying a dairy cow so that we cut the cost of buying milk which was eating into the little income that my husband made from his casual job. We are happy that we now have a cow and looking forward to it having it's first calf. This shall not only bring to an end the rising cost of milk but also make it possible for us to have extra income. We are also looking forward to receiving the second transfer and be able to start building a bigger house as we move from the old and small one that we are currently living in. We are so grateful that we were able to be enrolled in GiveDirectly program and for the things that we have been able to accomplish.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means better housing for my family. Building a better house has been a challenge for me because I lack the capacity of doing so. I am happy and hopeful that once I get the transfer, I will construct a 2 roomed iron-roofed house and convert the one where I live currently into the kitchen.
What is the happiest part of your day?
As much as buying food for my family has been a challenge, I am glad that I got enough food from my from because of the constant rainy season. My worry about feeding my family will have been reduced.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I am overwhelmed by the needs of my family right now. We do not have a decent house, buying food for my children and educating them is very hard due to limited finances. I do casual jobs to cater to these needs but the money does not allow me to meet all of them at once and it is my constant worry.
