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.
Since I was married, I have been living in temporary huts with grass-thatched roofs. My life has never been good since the roofing has been leaking all through. Secondly, I had to change the grass roofing yearly, this was costly according to my financial status. The moment I received my first transfer, my first thought was to change the roofing of my house and live comfortably like the rest of the people. I am now a happy mother since my family and I are now sleeping under a semi-permanent spacious iron-roofed house. I will no longer get stress up during the rainy season like I used to do previous, I will save the money and cater to other basic household needs for my family.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I was woken up by a message that I received at around 6 am After checking and realized that it was a message notifying me of the transfer I had been promised. I got so excited and immediately knew that I will accomplish all my desires.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I spent part of my first transfer on buying some livestock such as goats at KES 138000. I have been yearning to keep them in my homestead but I could not afford it. I settled in buying them since they mature faster and reproduce twice a year. I then bought some few pieces of iron sheets, some building poles, timber, and some nails. It was purposely for the renovation of my house since the previous one was almost collapsing. The remaining amount of money, I bought some household items and enough foodstuffs take would that us to the harvesting season.
Enrolled
access_time 5 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Being a widow and the only breadwinner for my family of 3, I have been always relying on my small business of selling sliver cyprinid (omena) around the village that earns me $1 per day which is not enough to sustain us. My desire has been to have an alternative means to uphold my family but this has never materialized. I have wished to start rearing goats as they are cheap to raise and they can reproduce at a higher rate, unlike cows. Receiving this money means fulfilling my dream since I plan to use my first transfer to purchase 6 goats at Ksh.3500 each. This will serve as my longterm investment, something that will change my life for the better.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Waking up healthy with my family in the morning gives me joy and hope in my life. I usually spend my mornings taking breakfast with children before starting my long day of selling omena around the village until in the evening when I come back tired and exhausted.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Imagine at the age of 69 years, I am still forced to walk around the village selling silver cyprinid commonly known as "omena" in order to provide the basic needs for the family. Considering the nature of this job being tiresome, it earns me very little since getting 1 dollar means doing this work the whole day. With my little income, which can not fully support me, I always have wished to still have the support of my husband who passed away 3 years ago. It has been a great challenge to be the only breadwinner in the family. Therefore, lack of a reliable source of income has been my biggest hardship.
