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 around 7 pm I was just relaxing at home after a busy day. My spouse had the phone, she came and informed me that there was a message from GiveDirectly confirming that I have received some money. When I checked it out I could not believe my eyes because I have never received such an amount of money before. We all celebrated because this was a blessing that would change our living standards. I knew I would be able to buy a dairy cow to cut the daily cost of buying milk. We aligned with my family and I went to withdraw the money the following day.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that I have purchased a heifer. The big challenge that I am always facing is that I always buy milk daily and this is so costly for me. I do small-scale farming and the procedure that I get is mainly for consumption. Secondly, I do casual jobs in the village and the amount of money that I get is so small and it was not enough for household basic needs. I spent KES 40 per day on milk. Whenever I do not have the money my children would go without milk. This is so demoralizing and stressful. Currently, I have purchased a heifer and I know in the next few months when it gives birth I would be in a position to get enough milk for the family. I will cut the daily cost of buying milk. This will be my source of income in that I will sell the surplus milk to earn an income to pay school fees for my children. I am so grateful for the support because this has given me hope that tomorrow is better.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 19,500 on purchasing a heifer. This is because I always buy milk daily and this is so costly for me since I do not have a continuous source of income. I depend on casual jobs in the village and small-scale farming as a source of income. Buying a heifer has given me hope in that I will get enough milk when it gives birth. I spent KES 15,000 on purchasing all the materials that were needed and building a better and more spacious house. We lived in a small house that could not host all my family members comfortably. The remaining amount of money I spent on purchasing utensils, food, and household items that we were lacking at that time.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
My idea of starting a business to sustain my family was thrown into limbo due to a lack of capital. This left me cracking my mind after a long period. I see my dream coming true with this money. I will invest KES 40,000 as capital to initiate my enterprise of buying and selling of livestock. This will make me feel happy as I will be in a position of raise my family of three without straining. I spent KES 200 daily to buy two liters of milk for my family which has increased the cost of living in my household. This makes me think of buying a cow for the family and have our milk. It will enable us cut family cost by hundred percent which is a great achievement for me.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Food particularly maize is selling at exorbitant in our region. Two kilograms of maize goes for KES 150 making it difficult to put food on the table. I am happy that with my little income of KES 3'000 monthly I buy them food although it is not enough.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I totally rely on food from the market for my family since I do not have a piece of land to cultivate. With my casual job (herding) I earn KES 3,000 monthly which is not sustainable for us. This puts me in a difficult situation now that I am the only family breadwinner. At times the pressure is too much and I am left frustrated.
