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?
It was one day from the day the transfers were received when I realized that I had money in my account. I had picked up my phone from the trading center where it was charging at around 9 am and upon switching it on, a message popped in. I decided to check to proceed with other things. What a message it was! My account had KES 55000.00 deposited from GiveDirectly. My heart broke down in happiness and thanksgiving for receiving such a huge amount of money at once knowing that some of the things I have been unable to do due to lack of money were going to be tackled.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The achievement that I count on from the transfer is that I was able to pay back the money I borrowed to take my young brother to school since I serve as his guardian. Being an orphan is a challenging thing but, I am grateful for the support I got from GiveDirectly, it mattered in my life. Apart from the school issue, the transfer restored my peace of mind from the harassment I was receiving from a man who sold me a piece of land and I was left with KES 20000.00 to pay him. Through the transfer, I settled the land issue and I am now leaning in peace.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Being the elder son in my family of four, I serve as the father to my siblings. This is because our dad passed on and I was left to look after my young brothers. When I received the money, The first thing I did was to pay a debt of KES 27000.00 which I borrowed to take my young brother to secondary school. He had performed well in his national examination and I had to do all means so that he joins the secondary school. Thereafter, I took KES 20000.00 to finalize payments of the piece of land we are living on. I had a balance of the KES 20000.00 and the owner was not giving me peace of mind to an extent of opting to sell a portion of the land worthy of the money which was remaining. For the remaining amount, I opted to buy some poles and rafters for constructing a new house. Therefore, I kept the poles and the rafters waiting for the second transfer so that I build a new house and leave the one I have to my young brothers.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
My mother gave birth to me outside a Wed lock. After 10 years of singleness, she decided to get married to a different person. I was 10 years old by then. Unfortunately, my stepfather did not accept me so he keeps on mistreating me. This made my mother undergo depression for a long time. Later she decided to purchase land and build a house for me so that I can live separately from them. My 2 young cousins also decided to join and live with me. Since this happened, life has not been easy because I have to work (as a taxi driver) and provide for the 3 of us. Receiving this money means a stable source of income for a family. I am planning to spend 80,000 KES building a 4 rooms semi-permanent house for business. In a month I can make an appropriate 4,000 KES which is enough for our basic needs. Other than that, I will use the remaining amount to pay school fees.
What is the happiest part of your day?
One of my cousins with whom we live together completed her primary education last month and performed very well. He scored ( 381/500) which I did not expect. This brought a lot of joy to me because I was the one paying school fees. This shows clearly that my hard work was not in vain.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Lack of support from my parents is the biggest challenge I am currently facing. Since my parents decided to separate me from their household life has never been the same. I have to work as a taxi driver at my tender age and provide for myself and my 2 cousins with whom we lived together.
