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 can vividly recall that it was 7th of December 2021 at 11:16 pm, when I heard my phone ringing, I was already on my bed, I was anxious to know who had texted me that late, upon confirming I saw a Mpesa notification showing that I had received money from Segovia technology, this was the happiest day of my life, My wife was already asleep hence I chose not to wake her up, instead I informed her the next day, we began planning on how we would spend our transfer.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my life today is that I am glad that finally, my son has collected his secondary school certificate which he was unable to collect due to financial constraints and other responsibilities, this is because I also had other children in school, I am a happy parent now to see him smiling and happy, we almost lost hope, but this was restored with the transfer that we got, I am so grateful for the support that brought so much happiness in our lives.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
The transfer was timely, In that, my son had cleared High school last year but he was unable to pick up his certificate due to fee arrears, I was unable to pay the arrears all these years due to financial constraints, I work as masonry, but unfortunately, it is not a reliable source of income, this is because a time we could go for months without any available work, therefore, I used KES 45,000 in paying school fees arrears for him, I then paid the school fee for my other son who is still in school, lastly, I used the remaining amount on clothes and farming.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means better education for my children. I have one child in secondary level, 1 who is to join college and 2 in primary level. I am a carpenter by profession and it is seasonal because it depends on other people income levels, they call for my services when they have money. The month can end without securing even a single job because of the high cost of living we are currently experiencing . This made me sell a pice of land in order to pay school fees for my children. I will use around KES 80,000 to pay school fees for my daughter who is to join college in January and pay arrears for the one in secondary level. The rest of the amount I will build a house for my grown up son so that he can get enough space which is comfortable for reading.
What is the happiest part of your day?
In the last 6 months, I have had good health and I am thankful to God for it. Although life has been difficult due to lack of job to feed my family atleast neither me nor my children have fallen ill.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The challenges I am currently facing is financial constraints. I am carpenter and with this bad economy securing a job nowdays is difficult. Before I used to earn KES 500 per day but nowadays I hardly earn anything for the whole month. This forced me to sell some of my property to raise school fees for my children.
