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 at home relaxing and I was expecting to give birth anytime. As I was browsing, an Mpesa message popped and I was so happy because I knew I wasn't going to stain to pay hospital bill.
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 able to afford farm labour because I can't go to the farm myself because I recently gave birth.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
A few days after receiving my transfers, I was admitted to hospital to give birth and I spent KES 20000 to settle the bill and KES 3000 to buy baby stuff. I'm happy that I was able to access the best medicine services in my location and both my new born and I are doing well. I spent the remaining KES 30000 buy farming inputs and pay workers who were helping in weeding. I'm hopeful that I will have some good harvest because previously, I wasn't able to afford fertilizer and pesticide.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means improved housing and shelter. My family is still young and hoping to expand someday. I have only one house which I also use as a kitchen, sometimes it gets smoky and may not be comfortable to cook in presence of visitors. So when I get this money I will use KES 50000 to build a more spacious house. My wife is expectant and she is due by January. So I will spend the remaining amount to purchase clothing, food for her and the baby and pay for the hospital bill after delivery.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Since we got married we have learned to save money. Unlike when we used to date we use to waste a lot of money on unnecessary things. This has brought joy and happiness since we can now budget well for our family even for our baby to come.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
The biggest challenge is financial constraints. I have small businesses where I sell household items. This has been my source of income but since the onset of Covid-19, income has been low. This has affected us since we had so many projects including house construction that we were hoping to accomplish but due to insufficient money, we have not achieved. My wife is due in January to deliver but I am scared since I feel I am not prepared enough financially to meet all the expenses including hospital bills.
