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 remember vividly that it was 6:30 am. When I heard a message notification from my phone. I was busy making breakfast for my family. When I checked out I could not believe my eyes. It was a message confirming that I have received KES 55,000 from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy because I have never received such an amount of money before. I immediately inform my spouse and he was so happy too. This was one of the happiest mornings we have ever had. I continue to prepare the breakfast and later went with my spouse to withdraw the money. We knew we would be able to buy building materials and plan on building a better and more spacious house for our family. We are so grateful for the support because GiveDirectly has improved our standards of living.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
Purchasing iron sheets and timber for building a house for my family is the biggest difference in my daily life. We live in a small grass-thatched house that cannot host all my family comfortably. This is so demoralizing When I have visitors and friends at home since I do not have space to host them. The other challenge is that a grass-thatched house is not easy to maintain since one has to change the grass more often. I had always wished to build a better house but I did not have the money. Instead on small-scale farming and causal jobs sometimes. This is only to meet the household items. I had no savings to buy the building materials. Currently, I have purchased all the necessary materials and saved some amount to pay the workers. I am so happy because soon when the house will have been completed I will be able the life in a spacious and better house. I will no longer shy off like before welcoming visitors to our house. GiveDirectly has changed our living standards to be much better than before.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent KES 45,000 on purchasing iron sheets, poles and other building materials. I am planning on building a better and more spacious house for my family. We lived in a small grass-thatched house that cannot host all my family comfortably. This was so demoralizing and stressful especially when I have visitors at home because there is no space to host them. I have saved the rest of the money to pay the workers who will do the construction. I am yet to start the construction process soon and I hope to move to a better and more spacious house. I am so grateful and excited at the same time. GiveDirectly has enabled us to fulfill our dreams.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money means a lot to us. We are excited that we will be able to build a decent 24 iron-roofed house, we have always wanted to build one but due to inadequate finances it has not been possible. Grass thatched houses nowadays are old-fashioned and even getting the specialized grass for roofing is hard nowadays. It is also an opportunity we have been yearning for so as to be able to harvest rainwater. We have been borrowing drinking water from neighbours for a long time now, other times we are not given and so we are faced to use water from the dams which are unsuitable for human consumption, one of my children was affected by amoebiasis caused by dirty water. We used a lot of money to treat her and it pained us alot. It will cost approximately KES 50000 and the remaining amount will be used to purchase a dairy cow.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Last December we received adequate rainfall that we used to plant maize and beans. They are doing well at the moment and we have just finished on first weeding. We are expecting better yields this season and that is what has brought me joy since I am certain we will be food secure in the coming months.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
We people of little means, we do casual works which pay little. The meager wages we get are used to purchasing maize flour since we are food insecure. It is a struggle that we have had to endure for a very long time, we are poor and live from hand to mouth. The situation is worse we are only concerned with what to eat as each day comes to an extent that we lacks decent clothes to wear. My children uniforms are torn and they have become a subject of ridicule in school at times they feel embarrassed and have developed low self esteem. So clothings is the major challenge we face right now.
