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?
I was relaxing in my house after completing my households chores. I had just arrived from fetching water for the family. I heard a message alert on my phone. Being illiterate, I passed over my phone to my child who confirmed that I had received the transfer. I was very excited about receiving my transfer. I had to wait for my husband who had gone to look after our goats.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is lam living a happy life after accomplishing my desire to own a piece of land. I will no longer have to rent from my neighbor which was very costly. I will this piece of land on farming something that will solve the problem of food insecurity in my family. Furthermore, I have enough food for my family after purchasing some with my transfer.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 25,000 to purchase a piece of land. This is because I was renting at KES 500 per acre for farming. This was costly since I had to pay every onset of planting season. I had the desire to own my piece of land but I lacked the finances to purchase one. In addition, I bought a local dairy cow for KES 16,000 to expand the livestock rearing because I had only goats. This is a long-term investment for the family, It will help with any challenge that I may face in the future. I also spent KES 3000 to go on with the construction of a new shelter for my family which I had started before I was enrolled in the program. This is because the house that I had was about to collapse. I spent the remaining amount to purchase enough food for the family since we are experiencing drought in our area.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means upscaling my farming which will result in food security in my household. Currently, I struggle a lot in feeding my family of 4 because I am unable to till my 5 acres of land. I usually use hoes and the much I harvest is only 1.5 sacks that last us for 2 months. I, therefore, plan to buy oxen and an ox-plough to help me increase my farm production, and to achieve this, I will spend utmost $380 of my transfers. With the remaining amount, it will help me to construct a house for myself and the one I currently have will be for my children, who are at the moment have occupied the kitchen. This will change my livelihood, a transformation that I have ever admired.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I spend the better part of the day in the bush doing my charcoal work and I feel it is risky since our area is inhabited by snakes. It is only in the evening when I get relaxed as I join my family at home. This gives me happiness because we talk and laugh a lot which relieves me from stress. Hence, the evening becomes the happiest part of my day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The most painful thing that I have gone through in life is the fact that, without charcoal work, it means my family will have to skip meals. This is so because farming is not reliable as of now due to the use of traditional methods like hoes. I am, therefore, forced to engage in charcoal work as an alternative source of income for my family, a very energy-intensive job as well as low paying. Hence, the lack of a reliable source of income is the biggest hardship that I have ever faced in my life.
