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.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
GiveDirectly does well in helping the needy and those that do not have a way to turn their life around again. I am grateful that through the funds I am receiving, I will uplift my life and live a good life like other people. I commend them for helping with my situation.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Since the death of my husband, life has never been the same again for me. My husband was the sole breadwinner for the family. After his demise, I had to work extra hard to educate my children, and I did so. Currently, my health condition does not allow me to work on the farm for long periods. My diagnosis from the hospital was High Blood Pressure, and this situation has proved to be a challenge for me in working on the farm. I mostly depend on my daughter who sells palm wine in a nearby local joint. The sales she makes from selling the palm wine is not enough to cater for her family's needs and me too. This makes the situation difficult for me, since I can no longer work and take care of myself. When I received the funds, it was like a light at the end of the tunnel for me. I spent a huge portion of KSH 2500 to buy food. My daughter had not sent me money for food and I slept hungry the previous day. To stop myself from starving, I bought food. I spent KSH 500 clear a medical bill for medical tests done on me by the doctor.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($27 USD)
access_time almost 3 years ago
attach_money
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I received the text message at around 11 am. I was washing my utensils at that moment. When I received the news, I became delighted and withdrew the money at around 12:30 pm and bought food for my family.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
food for my family.
The money has made all the difference in my life. I can now at least say the situation is getting better with the day. The money was able to help me pay my debts and also buy food for my family. I also had some amount left to attend to other small needs at home.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
A few days before receiving the money, my health deteriorated, and I became very weak day by day. To add on o the problems, neither my husband nor I have a job. Life is getting tough on us, and in the last few weeks, we did not have anything to eat, so we decided to take some food on credit and had a debt of KSH 800 to pay. So when I received the cash from GiveDirectly, I termed it a miracle from God that came at the right time for me. I spent KSH 800 repaying my debt and used KSH 1200 to buy maize flour consumed as food by my family. I also spent the remaining KSH 1000 buying some household items such as washing detergents and buying some water.
Enrolled
access_time 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am a widow, left behind by my husband with 9 children. I happened to have been married by a polygamous husband, something that I realized during his burial. Now that I could not pay rent by myself, I relocated to the village to settle. It was not easy, now that I had no house to call home. With the burden of raising my children, I never had the ability to build a house of my own. I recently started building a house, but the project has been halted due to financial constrain. I plan to use GiveDirectly transfers to complete the construction of my house.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I am happy to see that I am now settled, though I have not completed building my house, at least I am now culturally accepted as a legal wife to my late husband.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Imagine being married as a third wife without knowledge nor consent, only to realize on the burial day of your husband! I was left behind with 9 children to provide for. A husband whom I thought was for myself alone, happened to have married two other wives. Left with no choice, I opted to go to his ancestral home. I was not welcomed by co-wives, neither my children. I was mistreated to the extent of being denied land for farming. Times, it was through the intervention of the village elders who could come in to offer me relief food. My children opted to drop school for work at an early age despite my strongest dream to take them to school. The ordeal I went through till being culturally accepted is what I will count as the biggest challenge of my life.
