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 6 pm when I heard my neighbors celebrating that they have received money from GiveDirectly. My daughter was at home and she checked my phone. There was a message confirming that I have received money from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy because I have never received such amount of money before. I knew I would be able to buy a heifer. My daughter withdraw the money the following day and we started planning on how to spend it. I am so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has changed our living standards.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Purchasing a heifer is the biggest difference in my daily life. I buy milk daily and this is so costly for me. I depend on small scale farming and selling groceries at the shopping center. This earns me small income and I was not in a position to save so that I can purchase a dairy cow. I have always wanted to own a dairy cow but this was not possible. When I received the transfer from GiveDirectly I felt so happy and grateful. Currently I have a heifer and this has given me hope. I know that when it reproduce in the next few months I will get enough milk. I will used the money that I would have used to buy milk for other basic household items. I have devoted much of my time on this dairy project and I hope to improve in the future. GiveDirectly had improved our living standards to be much better than before.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spend KES 25,000 on purchasing a heifer. This was my main concern because I always buy milk daily and this is so costly for me. When it reproduce in the next few months I will get enough milk for the family and cut the daily cost of buying milk. I spend part of the money on purchasing building materials ready to build a poultry house. I will use part of the second transfer to purchase hens. This will be another source of income since o will be selling eggs. The remaining amount of money I spent on food and household items that we were lacking.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this transfer will enable me accomplish my wishes. I have been living in an old leaking kitchen for the last two years. The kitchen is in a very poor condition and I could wish to build a new one. I also own one dairy cow in which the returns do not satisfy my needs. Adding another dairy cow will enable me have enough milk for domestic use and sell of surplus milk will cater for my family daily expenses. I am happy for Give Directly's decision to come and eradicate poverty in my locality.
What is the happiest part of your day?
What brought me happiness in the month of February is that, I harvested 20kgs of maize. In preceding 5 years there was no harvests at all. I am happy for the heavy rains which have given me another chance to probably harvest more this year. The same rains increased the amount of milk I usually get from 2 litres to 3 litres a day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Currently my family is large unlike before where my household had two heads that is my husband and I. I was recently joined by my separated daughter with her two children. We are currently buying maize for home use and the price costs KES 100 per 2kgs. I am old and I am not in a position to work as a casual laborer. I am optimistic my daughter will go back to his household and daily expenses will reduce.
