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 was taking my goats to their zoo when I received a message on my phone. Upon checking, I received the first transfer from GiveDirectly. At that moment, I smiled and then laughed at myself involuntarily. I felt so happy knowing that, my house plan was going to be successful.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The main difference that I can proudly say of GiveDirectly is that initially I was living in a small and congested house but as of now since the first transfer, I was able to construct an additional room thus having space to accommodate even visitors.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
The first thing I did after withdrawing the money was to buy 15 pieces of iron sheets aiming to add a second room to my small house which was too congested. The room addition cost of all the materials plus labor was around KES 23000.00. I also bought a television for KES 7000.00 for entertainment purposes. Thereafter, I bought a goat for KES 2500.00. In addition to that, I bought a solar panel for KES 4000.00 for lighting purposes because the paraffin bills were expensive. for the remaining amount, I kept
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Am grateful that give directly has visited and enrolled my family, upon getting the transfer i plan to add extra room to our main house, currently we share a room which also serves as a kitchen, we can't get good sleep as its very stuffy.
We plan to use the first transfer to build a two roomed house which will cost around 50,000 ksh. This will make life more meaningful and i can't wait to start the project.
What is the happiest part of your day?
We had a ceremony that brought all extended family together, and i can not forget this event.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Prolonged drought in our region has affected farming which is my main economic activity. I can no longer sustain my family, as there is no source of food, especially in the market, and food prices have gone so high, we are forced to travel long distances to get water which is also unclean, and this is a risk to our health.
Our livestock are dying, so we are forced to sell at a throw away price, and end up getting losses.
