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?
This was by far the best and joyous day I've ever had in my life. I had run out of food in my house plus I had the desire to renovate my house. So, when I got the message that I had received funds from give directly, my very first thought was to start a poultry farming business. From this, I will create some employment for myself so I may help my husband support our child who will be turning 2 years old in May.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
There has been a great difference in my life ever since I started receiving these funds from give directly. I was able to restock my house with some food. I also plan on supporting my idea of improving my house from thatch to an iron sheet roof. My husband, who is also a builder, recently built it. He started with a single-roomed structure then he later added a room. Now I want to enhance it so it could be more comfortable for my family in all seasons. This, I will, using the profits I will be making from the poultry farming business that I started using the money I got. I also plan on purchasing a water tank that will help, especially during droughts.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I am married with one child. Since I am only a housewife depending on my husband (who works as a builder and motorcyclist.) for financial support. When we got married, we lived in a one-roomed thatch roof house. We then increased the number of rooms to two. During the rainy seasons, the house would leak. So, I plan to upgrade to an iron sheet roofed house. To fulfill this, I started a poultry farming business using KES 350 and from the profits, I will invest it towards the project. The amount that remained, I used to restock my house with some nourishments as we had run out of it.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
In our compound, everyone owns an iron-roofed house except me and the consequence of this is a feeling of shame, at the same time, I am rained on during rainy seasons. This has forced me to have the desire to change this status quo and I, therefore, intend to pool our transfers together with my husband to have the opportunity of constructing a decent house. This will restore my self-esteem because I will be feeling equally important as my relatives and thus, this is generally what receiving this money means to me.
What is the happiest part of your day?
In December last year, my husband started receiving his monthly transfers of 3000 KES from GiveDirectly. This was a great boost to us as a family because we have been stable in terms of getting our very basic needs like food. This has restored my hope for a better future and I can, therefore, consider this as what has brought joy to my life.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
At the age of 19 years, I never expected to be married and stay as a housewife. This is something that is still eating up my mind because what forced me to engage in this early marriage is the financial instability back at home. Being jobless, yet I have 1 child is worrying me a lot because I fear how miserable my future may look. I, therefore, consider the lack of a reliable source of income as my biggest challenge.
