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?
An alert on my phone came when I was with my helper at home and could not struggle to read, but passed my phone to him. What he confirmed to me was great and could not hold my happiness after realizing that I had to receive the first transfer from GiveDirectly. I had been expecting the money all that week with the noble plans that I had set to complete once I receive it. I had to review the list before collecting the money with my helper in the nearby shopping center the following morning.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is the hope of soon moving to a new house that is spacious, warmer, and more advanced compared to the thatched hut I had been living in with my grandchild. I had been struggling with the frequent cost of repair on the old one that needed patches on the roof to fill crevices and leaks that would let in rain during rainy seasons. Constructing a new one is a relief since I will not be spending more after completion.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
After all my children moved out to start their own families, I had been living with one of my grandchildren in a small thatched hut that was already wearing out on the roof. During the enrollment period, my plans were apparent in that I needed to put up a new house to replace the old one that was already leaking on the roof. I spent KES 25000 on obtaining the construction materials and paying part of the labor cost on the great construction work that is going on at the moment. Hopefully that I will soon see the structure complete and moving in will be my happiness. I also bought a bullock at KES 20000 that I am fattening to sell out in the future at a profit. Since I have a plentiful supply of milk from my two lactating cows, I could not buy more of them. I transferred the remaining amount to that savings account and will be useful in checking the consumables on the ongoing construction work.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means that I will improve my home. I will demolish the old grass-thatched house because it is to old now. It leaks through the roof whenever it rains, which is bad for my health. Spending about KES 20,000 to build an iron-roofed hut. I will not also buy a dairy cow at about KES 30,000 , to use its milk as food. I will also sell part of the milk to earn an income of about KES 200 per day.
What is the happiest part of your day?
In the last 6 months, we have received fairly good rain, making my crops thrive. I look forward to a big maize harvest that will take me through the rest of the year as food. I am happy that we have not experienced a drought this season.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I lack food almost all the time. In my old age, I can only farm a small parcel of land. With poor maize yields in yhi region, I harvested maize that only lasted me for about 5 months. Its completely finished now and I rely on my children who will see me through this famine season. Even though I am about to harvest another maize crop, I have difficulty in finding food at the moment. I will therefore use part of the transfer on food stuffs and ven to grow more crops to secure my future needs.
