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.
The biggest difference is the encouragement and the hope that I have built about life. A lot of the challenges that I was facing had driven me to the verge of giving up in life. However, having received money from GiveDirectly and accomplishing the things that I had no idea if and when I could accomplish, encouraged me a lot and made me believe that nothing is impossible and that it is just a matter of time before I could achieve my goals. This is the greatest difference that this money brought into my life.
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
I felt so happy the moment I received money from GiveDirectly. I found myself laughing hysterically as I jumping up and down the moment I received a message from GiveDirectly. For once, I was lost for words as I just stared at my husband and children. I lost appetite for sometime as I just tried to figure out the whole situation. After a while I recollected myself and got down to implementing all the plans that I had about the money.
What did you spend your first transfer on?
I used part of my first transfer to build a new house. The house that we were staying in was so small and grass thatched and had its roof leaking. This had got me thinking of building a new house but I had not been able to actualize this dream since the little income that I got was only enough to feed the family and make ends meet. On receiving this transfer, I took the house as a first priority and I am happy that the new building is already complete and we have since moved in. I also used part of the money to pay school fees for my child who is in secondary school. She had huge school fees arrears which I never thought would have been cleared anytime soon but I was extremely grateful and happy to pay her school fees and for once give her ample time to be in school uninterrupted and hopefully give us good results. The remaining amount of money was used to buy food and other basic household need for the family.
Enrolled
access_time over 4 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Adding two dairy cattle to my herd as well as reduced worry level whenever my spouse who is the breadwinner of our family and does casual jobs fails to secure a job as well as building a more spacious iron roofed house for the comfort of my family is what receiving this money means to me.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I usually spend most of my mornings till midday in my compound doing household chores, taking care of my cattle as well as farming in the garden. This is the time i enjoy most since doing my work keeps me busy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Access to food security has been the biggest hardship we face in our family. This is mainly attributed to prolonged droughts that has rendered our farms unproductive hence my spouse spends the little amount of income he earns from engaging in casual jobs in purchasing food for the family. Investing in long term development projects has therefore been impossible to us
