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 biggest difference in your daily life.
Acquiring a motorcycle has been the biggest difference in my daily life. Since buying the motorcycle, we have been getting an income through the provision of taxi services in our locality. This income has enabled us to fulfil our families basic needs such as daily foodstuffs. Apart from this, I also use the motorbike to fetch water, since water shortage in our has affected us severely such that we have to travel for several kilometres. Thus it has relieved us of the stress of carrying water by ourselves over a long distance which is tiresome.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I saw a message at daybreak on my phone and as I read it, I could not hold back the joy that I felt since I had received a big sum of money from GiveDirectly. I called for my family and we rejoiced for the fortune as we planned on how to spend the money to change our living standard.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I spent a larger portion of my first transfer to buy a second-hand motorbike. I paid out KES 45000 for the acquisition of the motorbike, which is still working well. I am looking forward to providing taxi services in our locality to generate income. Also, since we are faced with a water shortage in our region and we have to travel over a long distance in search of water, the motorbike will greatly help to fetch for our household as well for others at a fee. I also bought a new mattress to replace the old beddings that I was using. I also acquired a new solar panel which has been an important source of lighting to my household and even for my children's studies.
Enrolled
access_time over 5 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I have wished to live a decent life like owning a hotel business, living in a spacious house and also possessing livestock but this has never materialized because of financial challenges. This has forced me to be a house wife and mostly depend on my husband who is working as a barber. His earning is very little such that it can not fully support our basic needs. The aid from GiveDirectly means awakening our life dreams since I opt to start a hotel business with my first transfer in order to have a reliable source of income. I also plan to use my second transfer in constructing a spacious house for myself and any remaining amount will be spent in buying livestock. This will change our life for the better and hence, this transformation is basically what does receiving this means to me.
What is the happiest part of your day?
When I wake up in the morning, I clean my compound, prepare breakfast for myself when it is available and leave to work at my farm. I usually spend the better part of my day working and come home at around two o'clock in afternoon. Being tired, I am also forced to go and fetch water from a pan which is almost two kilometers away. This makes me feel exhausted when it comes in the evening, but still it is at this time when I can get time to rest. Therefore, I consider evening as the happiest part of my day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Being a house wife, I have no any activity that can earn me income to supplement the little earnings from my husband's job. Since his income is very little such that it can not fully support our basic needs, I am forced to live in a house which I also use as a kitchen. This situation has made our life so difficult something that has subjected me to ridicule. Therefore, I consider lack of reliable source of income as my biggest hardship.
