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 d 9 AM when I was preparing to go to the farm then my phone started ringing continouisly. I was shocked because it was so unusual to receive a message at such an hour. Therefore I decided to seek assistance from my helper and check the content of the message. Only to realize it was an Mpesa message from GiveDirectly I felt so happy and even postponed the day's activities.
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 managed to clear the school fees arrears fr my grandchildren. This has been my dream of seeing them going to school and getting good education like the rest but this was not achievable becasue of poverty life. I never had a chance to go to school neither my children and whatever we have been going through in life is a result of our illiteracy. Therefore this matter has been stressing me for so many years especially if one of them drops out of school becasue of the fee balances. I will forever be grateful to God for making me bringing GiveDirectly into my village and had a chance to be among the beneficiaries. This becasue the future of my grandchildren is promising together with their generation courtesy of the organization.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent part of my first transfer on buying some livestock which includes two dairy cows and some goats. These have been the well thoughtful living assets that I have dreaming to own for years but I could not afford them becasue they were very expensive. Also, I cleared the school fees arrears for my grandchildren who are still in primary school. To add to that I bought decent clothes for myself to replace the old ones which were not in good condition. With the room amount of money, I bought enough food for my family.
Enrolled
access_time over 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am a peasant farmer growing maize, cassava and peas for my household consumption. I have wished to develop my farming by purchasing oxen and ox-plough to help me in cultivation, this will make sure that I have more harvest from my farm hence enough food for the family. Receiving this money means I will be able to have constant food supply for my family. My plan is to spend 350 dollars for the purchase of oxen and ox plough .I will use the remaining amount to purchase 9 goats which will act as my longterm investment for my family since I will be able to sales them at a profit when they multiply.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Evening is the happiest part of my day. I usually spend my morning and afternoon working on my farm. This job is tiresome because its involve using a lot of my energy, the only time I can relax is in the evening after eating my dinner hence I consider it the happiest moment of my day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Food insecurity is my biggest hardship for my family, this has been brought out by lack of financial crisis to advance my farming. I am forced to use the tradition ways of farming by using manual work using hoes which is characterized by low harvest.
