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?
It was 6 am and I had just woken up when suddenly I heard my phone ringing. I took it and I gave it to one of my children to check it for me since I do not know how to read. She checked it and soon enough with a smile on her face, she told me that the SMS that had been sent was indicating that I had received the KES 55000 that GiveDirectly had promised us. I was so happy on hearing this piece of good news and I thanked God for it. I now knew that I was going to be able to achieve the plans that I had already made.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The transfer has brought a very big difference in our lives as a family. We are happy and grateful to GiveDirectly because we managed to clear the hospital bill with the transfer that they sent us. I do not know what we could have done to get the needed money. I guess we could have opted to sell a piece of our land to raise the money. We are thus thankful to them for supporting us.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
We spent KES 35000 of our recent transfer on settling the hospital bill for my husband who had fallen ill and had been admitted. We then took KES 9000 which we used in buying three bags of maize for our consumption. We didn't have food in the house and my husband who had been discharged from the hospital was still needing to be taken care of well and fed since he was still weak. We then bought ten iron sheets at a total cost of KES 8000 and with the remaining transfer amount, we used to buy some trees. We bought the iron sheets and the trees because we want to build another house. We only have one small grass-thatched house and the space is not enough to accommodate guests such as our grandchildren who usually come to visit us. It has always been our wish to build another iron-roofed house but we didn't have the money to do so. We are small-scale farmers and we usually grow sweet potatoes for food and sale. Other than that, we also usually engage in doing casual work to earn a living. The money that we get from our hustles is less and most of it usually goes to the purchase of food for our consumption. We have thus not been in a position to make other developments.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
We are 3 years old in this village. In the past, we used to live in Rongai in Nakuru county.We sold the 0.1 acre we had to buy 0.4 acres of land here, land is relatively cheap in this area unlike in Rongai and that is why we opted to move to this place. The land we bought is small, just 0.4 acres. It is hardly enough to carry out farming activities. We wanted to buy at least one acre but the insufficient finances could not allow it. We have been afflicted by the vicious cycle of poverty that has caused us a lot of suffering. Our wish is to buy more land for use, we intend to use KES 80000 to buy another 0.2 acres of land. The remaining amount will be used to build a kitchen since the one I use at the moment is a makeshift one.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My eldest son had gotten involved in a motorcycle accident and broke his right hand leg. He was in a wheelchair for the better part of last year, but in January he was fully recovered and has resumed his normal life. I was overjoyed to see him back in his element.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My husband is diabetic. Even as we talk he is admitted at Chelimo hospital in Silibwet. The problem has persisted for a long now. We have used a lot of financial resources to treat his condition to little improvement. We sold all the cows we had, he usually undergoes reviews on regular basis to check on his sugar level. Palliative care at home is also expensive since he is always on drugs.
