Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was a normal day for me. I was on my farm harvesting maize with my wife and sister when, at around 3 p.m., I heard a message come in. Upon checking, I saw that I had received my first transfer from GiveDirectly. I called my wife aside to share the news with her, and I could see the joy in her eyes. We knew that we could finally speed up our maize harvesting by hiring labor.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
I am a crop farmer, and this year has not been lucky for me. I lost 1.5 acres of maize and an acre of melon, which was a great loss, but I didn’t give up. When the water receded, I replanted maize, and luckily, it did well. However, when it was ready for harvesting, I didn’t have the money, so my family and I were going to harvest it ourselves, which would have taken longer. With the rains, I was afraid I would lose it again. Thankfully, I received the GiveDirectly cash just in time, which helped me with the harvesting. I didn’t lose my maize for the second time. God bless you, GiveDirectly.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Our maize on an acre of land was ready for harvesting, but I did not have the money to cover the costs. I had planned to do the harvesting with my wife and sister, which would have taken longer, and with the rains, we risked losing the crop. When I received my first transfer from GiveDirectly, I decided to prioritize the harvest. I spent $89 on harvesting and transporting the maize to the joint drying area. Additionally, at the time, my brother, who is in college, needed $300 for his fees. My dad, who used to pay his fees, sadly passed away three years ago, and now the responsibility has fallen on us, his siblings. I contributed $60 toward his fees while my other siblings covered the rest. From the remaining money, I spent $20 on food—we had maize, but we lacked other essentials like beans, milk, and other essentials. I added $13 to the remaining $12 and bought watermelon seeds, waiting for water to start planting. I rely on crop farming to support my family.