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.
The biggest difference in my daily life is that my children are no longer sent home to collect school fees and their performance has improved compared to previous results. I no longer struggle so much on the casual jobs in the village and I have devoted much of my time on my own farm and it has resulted in good production. I used to do casual jobs and the payment was so small and it was not enough to gather for both the household basic need and at the same time pay school fees for my children. I'm so happy with the support it has made my work so easy and flexible. I did not have any cow before of my own but I have two now and having this has given us much hope in our family for the future.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
The moment I received the money I felt so happy. My phone was off during the night and when I switched on my phone in the morning that is when I received a message from GiveDirectly and I did not believe my eyes. I called my children to confirm for me the message and it was truly money from GiveDirectly. All my family members were so happy that day because we knew all our plans will be accomplished.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I spent my first transfer on buying two cows and the rest of the money I used it on food for the family and pay school fees for my children in secondary school. My children used to be sent home to collect school fees and this was making me struggle so much doing the casual jobs in the village. Currently, their performance has improved because they spent much of their time in school studying unlike before where the could be at home most of the time due to lack of money to pay their school fees.
Enrolled
access_time over 5 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money will enable me pay school fees for my children.I have one child in college and two of them in secondary school.I will also buy one cow and four sheep.This will help me in years to come especially paying school fees.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I wake up as early as five o'clock in the morning to prepare my children for school.I then milk the cows and do the daily house chores like washing utensils.I then go to my farm till noon when its time to prepare lunch.After lunch I go back to my farm till later in the evening.The happiest part of my day is in the evening because I relax after working continuously for the whole day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest hardship I have faced in my life is lack of enough income to sustain the family's basic needs.I am a farmer and I get very little yield from the two acre farm that we own.This is mainly because of crop diseases which have been very persistent over the years.Sometimes we require to use herbicides to control them but we do not have money to do this.This translates to low income hence brings about the difficulty of satisfying the family needs;clothes,food and school fees being the heaviest burden.
