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 had gone to the river to fetch water and when I arrived, I found out that my spouse was all jovial. Upon inquiring what was making him that happy since he was not that way when I left home, he informed me that GiveDirectly had finally sent us the promised money we had been eagerly waiting for. Upon hearing this, my heart was filled with happiness and I gave praises to God for remembering us at such a time.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have been able to add an asset in my compound. This is because I was able to purchase a dairy cow using part of my transfer and due to this, I am optimistic that my family will always have enough milk for consumption and sale. I will in turn be using the money earned from selling milk to meet some of our basic needs and due to this, I will be able to run my kiosk business smoothly as I will be using most of my profits to restock bit and this will attract more customers.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
It has always been my dream to expand my dairy project that I have but had not been able to due to lack of finances. I own one dairy cow and the milk we usually get is for consumption. When I received my transfer, I decided to spend KES 25000 to actualize my dream through buying a dairy cow. When it calves, my family will have enough milk for consumption and sale to earn an income that I can use in buying some of our basic needs. Also, I operate a small kiosk in our neighborhood and this business was almost collapsing as I had been spending my capital and all the profits on our basic needs without restocking it. Currently, I am glad that I was able to spend KES 10000 from my transfer to restock it and it is back on its feet. In addition to these, I spent KES 3000 on farming by hiring a tractor to help me in land preparation purposes, KES 2000 to pay school fees for my children who had been sent back home and used the remaining KES 14000 on food and clothes.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
It means a lot. I have a mini shop in my village and would love to use $100 of the first transfer to add more items to it and use the remaining to add a cow since I have a large family and the cow that I have does not produce enough milk for us. I will also use $100 to stock enough maize for my family.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My happiest part of the day is in the morning because I wake up safe and healthy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Food security. My farm is less productive. I farm maize but it does not produce enough maize to sustain my family. Having some money to add more to the produce will help my family secure food. Adding a cow will also help me and my family to reduce the amount spent on buying milk.
