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?
I remember vividly it was around 7:16 am. I had gone to collect water from the river. When I came back and checked my phone I could not believe my eyes, it was a message confirming that I have received money from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy and immediately informed my spouse who was at home. We all celebrated with lots of joy. I have never received such an amount of money before. I withdrew the money the following day. We had enough time to plan on how to spend the money.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Building a house for my family is the biggest difference in my daily life. This is because we lived in a small grass-thatched house which was leaking from inside. This was so demoralizing and stressful. I would take my children to sleep at the neighbor's house. I depend on casual jobs to earn an income. This earns me a small income and it was only for household basic needs and sometimes I was able to purchase some of the material. I am so grateful because GiveDirectly has enabled me to complete the construction process and now I live in a better and more spacious house. I had always wished to own a better house but I did not have the money to purchase all the necessary materials. My children are so happy because they have a spacious and private room to sleep and study. I am so grateful for the support.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 10,000 to repay the debt that I had borrowed from a group to purchase iron sheets. We have a group that we have started in our village. I am so grateful because I have cleared the debt. I spent KES 5,000 to purchase some of the materials to complete the construction of the house. I paid KES 8,000 to workers who were doing the construction. I bought a bed and mattress. The rest of the money I spent on food and clothes for my children. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has improved our living standards.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
It means comfort to me. When I receive this money I will finish building my house which at now is still doorless and roofed halfway. When all that is done, it will be the best time to now furnish it to a level I can afford. As you have seen, I do not have comfort at all at the moment. I only possess one bed without a mattress that my children normally use with just gunny bags spread on. I and my husband still the same situation; we spread the same gunny bags on the floor and that's how we every night. I know it won't get me much but I'll be able to afford that level of comfort that every family deserve.
What is the happiest part of your day?
It was a great joy when we finally managed to put up this structure in May last year. It has always been our dream to have a house that can accommodate at least our bedroom, children's bedroom and a living room. The one we had initially was jus a one room of ten by ten with grass thatched roof that terribly leaks. It took us about two years to save up funds to be able to accomplish this. Even though the third room is not yet roofed and the house is still doorless, I'm happy we've taken it this far on our own.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Lack of reliable source of income is my biggest challenge. I'm always low on funds which is why my house is built halfway and my children are also constantly sent home from school to collect fees areas, even as recent as today. I have two children who are already schooling; one in grade one and the other in pre school. They pay school fees of 1500 KES per academic term, amount I'm not comfortably able to raise within a month. As charcoal burners we can only make a maximum of 2400 KES from sales of four sacs that we're able to produce in a week. This is too little to feed my family of five and still pay school fees for my children.
