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.
How is your life different than it would have been if you never received the transfer?
In the next one year and beyond I will be concentrating on building a better house for my family. I have always wanter to have a more decent house that will give me and my family the much needed comfort and dignity that I have always yearned for. Right now we live in a slope hoise that is hardly enough for our young family and my desire is to build a mich bigger and better hoise for my family. This would be very difficult to implement as I already have building materials bought and I an just waiting t9 buy more building materials before I start its construction. This is an achievement that i will be most proud to get and I look forward to it.
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
I felt so happy when I learnt that the money sent to us was inconditional. This to me was such a great gesture in which I am extremely grateful for. Looking at what different people have been able to achieve makes me and my family very happy and contented. I have not found any wrongdoing from GiveDirectly and its officers.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used $100 to pay school fees balance for my child who was in secondary school then. Another $150 was used to buy pieces of iron sheets that is meant to help is construct a new house for our family. I then used another $90 to purchase maize that we have been consuming with my family over the last couple of days. I also used another $10 to buy dewormers for my livestock as I used another $40 to have additional livestock in my flock. I am so grateful for what I have been able to achieve with the help of GiveDirectly transfers this far. The money came at a time that my daughter had just had her first child and we used the money to help her 8n her recovery journey and nursing.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
18010 KES ($129 USD)
access_time 10 months ago
attach_money
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
One evening as I was performing my routine household duties, I received a message and asked one of my daughters to read it since I assumed it was one of the usual service provider notifications. But upon confirming that the message was in fact a confirmation of the transfer provided by Givedirectly, I excitedly grabbed my phone back and thanked God for the Givedirectly. I was ecstatic!
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
With four other family members, including my grandchildren, I currently reside in a relatively small one-room home with mud walls and an iron sheet roof. The house is relatively tiny, and I always think of a scenario where I may have visitors. I had previously planned and hoped to construct a larger and more decent house, but the meager income we receive from doing casual and manual labor is insufficient to even cover our basic necessities, let alone pay for building supplies. The biggest difference is that I've started the process of building a new house by purchasing nine poles while I wait for the next transfer to purchase more construction supplies.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
The main issue our family and community are currently facing is the lack of food. The production of crops from our farms has been hampered by the unpredictable and difficult rains that have been falling. So, we have no choice except to buy our food from stores and markets. About $100 of the $200 I was given went toward buying food for my family of five. I also settled a $20 bill that I had accrued from food purchases. I spent the remaining money on fencing my property after purchasing nine posts at a cost of $4 each as part of the materials I need to build a house.
Enrolled
access_time 1 year ago
What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?
I have a family of 4, who look up to me to fend for them. It is a real struggle to put food on the table. Things have fallen apart and the center cannot hold anymore because of the lack of food. We buy everything we eat at a high price, and the cost of living has further worsened the otherwise bad situation. Nothing is more disturbing than the lack of food to eat. It is for this reason that I intend to sort out the most urgent need of purchasing foodstuff, this help could not have come at a better time than this when we are faced with the worst drought. It is against this backdrop therefore that I intend to buy 2 bags of maize that retail at $140 which will be sufficient for at least 5 months. We plan to use the rest of the transfers to build a decent house.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Despite the multiple challenges that we face almost daily, I am glad that I have enjoyed relatively good health. I thank God that He has been kind to me and has sustained me this far. With the kind of hard life, we go through our health tends to be feeble because we don't eat a balanced diet. My husband has had high blood pressure presumably because of the hardships that we had. Mine has been the grace of God and I pray to Him to continue protecting me.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
We are battling biting food insecurity. The situation has been so bad that my husband has moved to another place called Eldama Ravine to engage in casual jobs to sustain us albeit with meager wages. He felt bad that he was not able to provide for the family. We are forced to survive on just a meal a day, just for survival. We are people of little means. I engage in casual jobs which are erratic and hard to come by. The situation has been further exacerbated by the drought that has brought about devastating effects on our livestock. We travel long distances to look for water and pasture. Our livestock at the moment are so emaciated and I am afraid if it will not rain soon they will be wiped out by the effects of drought. We have lived a life of abject poverty, destitution, and full of misery.
