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 when I received the money from GiveDirectly. I remember very well that I saw the message from GiveDirectly at around 8:00 pm when I was preparing supper. I had a supernatural feeling within me that I cannot explain with words. Straight away I visited my son's house since he was an immediate neighbour and shared the good news with them. They had earlier received their transfer at around 6:00 pm that day and it was all joy and celebration within my family and by extension the entire village. I could not imagine that finally I had money that would enable me pay dowry for my son who had been married for quite a long time then and we had been unable to pay the dowry yet it is oke of the most important things to do to build strong relationships with in laws.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the peace of mind that I have had since I received and used my first transfer. Paying dowry to my in laws on behalf of my son brought a lot of fulfillment in my life than I have ever felt before. It is something that had eaten up my mind for quite a long time and I always looked forward towards making this payment. It had reached an extent that I could not face my in laws confidently since I felt that I was ready making a mistake of failing to fulfill this cultural practice in time. We are now in good terms with my in laws and this makes me very happy person. I no longer have the guilt that I used to have before. It is for this reason that I am even ready to invest the second transfer in purchasing a piece of land. We currently live in a small piece of land that is yet to be subdivided among many people and we have made a decision to use the entire second transfer to purchase a piece of land.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used KES 42000 to buy 2 cows for dowry payment and used the remaining amount to start a cereal selling business. Dowry payment is one of the most important and essential components of building strong relationships with in laws once children fall in love and get to marry. We had stayed for quite a long time without paying even just a small portion of it. It had gotten to an extent that I felt disturbed about it and completely lost peace of mind. Whenever I met my in laws, I was always reminded that there is a debt that needs to be settled with them. I could only hope against hope that we would be able to raise such huge amount of money to be able to commence the payment. I was engaging in small scale business of cereal selling that would only provide us with just enough to feed my family while my son too operated a motorcycle that would earn him very little to be able to save and pay such. GiveDirectly provided us with an open opportunity to fulfill this and we could not hesitate to do it. I am now a very happy person having fulfilled this culture norm. I now have peace of mind which I did not have before and my in laws and my son are all very happy about this new recent development. I now look forward to buying a piece of land once I get my second transfer.
Enrolled
access_time almost 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means a new start for my business of buying and selling traditional vegetables and milk. I have been doing this business for the last ten years and it has really helped me to earn an income and sustain the family's needs. I learned not to depend so much on my husband because he is polygamous and he has a huge responsibility to pay school fees for the children. I then took it upon myself to be the one providing food and clothing for the family. It has been my wish to be the one producing the vegetables and milk from my small farm but I have never had enough money to help me start. These transfers will therefore enable me to start producing the raw materials for my business which will ensure that I maximize on the profits. I will therefore use the transfers to buy seeds for the vegetables and also buy two cows for milk production. I hope with this I will be able to redefine my business and the profits that come from it.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My daughter was married last month in a very colorful ceremony in the village and it gave a lot of happiness because I was so proud of myself as a parent.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
It has been so challenging to run my business because I have to get the raw materials from middlemen who exploit us so much this eating into our profits. It also challenging that with my age I cannot move around to the nearby markets to look for raw materials as I used to do before when I was younger. I was even worried that going forward I might have to close the business all together. I am hopeful now that you have enrolled me in this program and I hope to start producing my own raw materials.
