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 until when my daughter who doubles as my helper informed me that I had received the promised money from GiveDirectly that I came to realize the good news as I had not read the Mpesa message that I had received. Upon hearing this, I became so happy and immediately informed my spouse who started singing praises to GiveDirectly for fulfilling their promise. After the celebration, I requested my helper to go and withdraw the cash the same day so that the construction of our house would commence.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Being able to continue building a more permanent house for my family is the biggest difference in my daily life. I was able to purchase steel doors and windows, cement, and tiles using the transfer and due to this, I have been able to complete furnishing all the rooms except the sitting room. Our main aim is to move into this house before the end of the year and I am glad that this will materialize since I am planning to spend my second transfer to complete it.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
When I received my transfer, I saw this as an opportunity to complete building a house for my family. I bought some steel doors and windows, tiles, cement and paid for the labor. I had started building it before GiveDirectly came for enrollment but left it incomplete since my eldest son who was financing it diverted his income towards my youngest sons medication. I spent KES 5000 on food and other household necessities.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money will enable me to finish up constructing my halfway-built house. My goal was to shift to the new house by the end of the year, but my son who was financing the construction diverted his financial support to his younger brother's hospital bills. I will therefore use $900 of my transfer to actualize this goal.
What is the happiest part of your day?
At my old age, waking up each day feeling strong and healthy is what I always look forward to, thus morning is the happiest part of my day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My spouse and I are aging and we solely depend on our children to provide 80% of our needs, more so food and clothing. My eldest son's wish was to construct a better and more comfortable house for us, as a token of appreciation for funding his education through the university level. However, he had to divert all the construction financial support, to pay the hospital bills for my youngest son who succumbed to Meningitis one month ago. Where to get money to finish up with the construction is our current biggest challenge, but we thank Give Directly for coming in handy to salvage the situation at hand.
