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?
When I got my transfer, I thought I was the luckiest person. I had just come home from preparing my farm for planting season. Because I was held up on that and had not checked my phone, I was notified first by a friend who had confirmed his transfer. Because my house was in dilapidated condition, I knew that with the transfer, I would renovate it and make it look better. I am extremely grateful to GiveDirectly for the prompt assistance.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference I have so far experienced is the capacity to initiate renovating my house. I did not know that this would be possible. My family resources had been overstretched since my income had drastically gone down. I had been struggling to cater to the needs of my family hence I could not imagine undertaking any form of development. Instead, my main focus was to buy food for the family with the little income I could raise.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used my transfer to purchase building stones, sand, and cement for the renovation of my three-bedroom house. It was initially in a deplorable state. I am relieved that the work is currently underway and that it will result in the strongest and most beautiful house. This will relieve me of the stress of constructing a new house. I was initially concerned because I do not have a reliable source of income, so raising money to improve my house has been a nightmare for me and my family. Thanks to GiveDirectly for its financial aid.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I have plans of starting agribusiness specifically raring chicken and and growing vegetables. Because the area is too dry, I plan to do this through irrigation either using pipe water or rain water. Considering the cost on other side, I think I'll settle for rain water where I'll add water gutters around the roof of my house to be collecting the water during rainy seasons. I'll then store this water in either an underground concrete tank or plastic tanks again depending on which one is cheaper. This means reliable source of income for me and my family.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I was happy in December last year when I got a contract to supply local breed of chicken to a particular hotel in Mombasa. They requested me to supply them but I didn't have stock. What made me even more happy is the fact that they accepted my request to postpone it and start at a later date when I have stock. Though I didn't know GiveDirectly's program was coming, I'm glad it's going to boost my project a lot.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
It's really hard to find a reliable source of income here in the village. I was initially employed in an hotel in Mombasa but lost job in 2019. This is when I moved to the village to start living here permanently. It's been a lot of struggle to make ends meet but I'm constantly pushing through different ways like keeping chicken. I sometimes get good orders for chicken but still I do not have the capacity to produce enough to satisfy the market. This makes it hard for me to earn good amounts of money.
