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 early in the morning as I was going through my phone when I realized that I had an unread message. Upon reading its contents, my heart was filled with joy. I knew that God had finally answered my prayers through GiveDirectly as the cash would enable me to achieve a lot of things in life.
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 am now a happier person living a peaceful life. This is because despite not overworking myself, my family now feeds and dresses well unlike before. This is because the transfer enabled me to buy some decent clothes for everyone in my family and food to last for some time. Also, I am now a proud owner of a dairy cow and a sheep. These are assets to me that I did not have before and I can always lean on them in case of financial challenges in the future.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
When I received my first transfer, I decided to buy a dairy cow worth KES 25000 and a sheep worth KES 3000. These are assets to me that I can lean on in case of financial crisis. I believe that the cow will be calving soon and my family will have enough milk for consumption and sale. Also, I spent some amount on my family's welfare. I bought everyone some decent clothes and shoes and also some food to last us for some time. Apart from this, I bought solar lamp for lighting purposes in my household. This will help me to cut short the cost of buying paraffin daily and my children will also be able to do their studies in the evening without any interruptions. I still have some amount that I am planning to use in buying some building materials to use in renovating a kitchen for my family.
Enrolled
access_time 4 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Buying one dairy cow that produces milk for sale at a cost of $350, buying two goats at a cost of $90, buying household furniture as well as a solar panel for lighting that will cost me around $50, and initiating a poultry keeping project that will supplement my earnings from selling milk is what receiving this money means to me.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Waking up feeling energetic and healthy is the time i am most happy since this is a motivation to look for work to do that will earn me some income at the end of the day
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My spouse and I engage in casual jobs in other people's farms in order to support our family needs. These jobs are never a guarantee to secure , which forces us to sometimes provide one meal for the family at the end of the day. Most of the times, my children are sent home for fees and they can stay at home for one to two weeks before we manage to get the amount needed in school. Unreliable source of income is hence the biggest challenge we face
