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.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
For the longest time, we have suffered from water scarcity and hunger due to the lack of rain. We are forced to walk for almost two hours to find a water source, which has been a challenge to me because of my old age. Also, we are used to skipping basic meals since the household lacks a reliable source of funds. As we speak, I am starving for I have had nothing to eat since yesterday morning. Therefore, the cash aid played a vital role in procuring both food and water for the family. I spent 4,300 KES, from recent transfers to acquire maize flour, rice, sugar, and bean cereals for consumption. Next, I hired a motorcyclist to deliver water from the pond and compensated him 350 KES per trip. I saved 1,000 KES, intending to acquire iron sheets later for my new house.
3rd Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($27 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
attach_money
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
My old age does not allow me to work. My problem has therefore been getting food. I used to fully depend on my children for food but since I started receiving money from Give Directly, I have been able to afford food by myself. With the last transfer of KES 3,000 for example, I used all of it to buy food and some Christmas shopping. I had one of the best Christmas season.
2nd Payment
Transfer Amount
3050 KES ($27 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
attach_money
In your opinion, what does GiveDirectly do well, and what does it not do well?
In my opinion, GiveDirectly does well in terms of dealing directly with recipients and not involving many intermediaries. This has made the likely hood of we vulnerable recipients getting help very high. Unlike previous times where we have been promised to be helped but ended up waiting with no success, this is the first time I am benefiting from any type of help.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent all the transfer of KSH 3000 I received in buying food for my family. I have been facing the challenge of being able to provide food for my family. I currently have no job. I have my grandchildren with me and they depend on me. I cannot engage in doing hard manual jobs due to the state of m health. The food stock in the house was finishing up and since I did not want my grandchildren to starve I prioritized buying food.
Initial Payment
Transfer Amount
1200 KES ($11 USD)
access_time over 2 years ago
attach_money
Describe the moment when you received your money. How did you feel?
It was in the morning hours and my youngest son was having my phone at that time. So he came running towards me and told me that I had received a text message. When I looked into my phone I saw that I had received cash from GiveDirectly. I became very happy. I was not expecting to receive such an amount of money.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The money has made a big difference in my life in that I bought food for my family and we were able to eat. Life has been tough for me and the money has helped cover up something that I would not have been able to do that by myself.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I received KSH 1200 from Give directly. I spent the whole amount on buying food for my family. I can tell you for sure life is hard now than ever before. My farm is no longer productive. Everything that I planted did not bore any fruits due to the climatic conditions. There is no rain at all. I am a farmer and I depend heavily on rainfall to be able to grow crops and later sell the harvest. Now that there is no rain everything has been hard for me and I have no food. So when I received the cash I opted to spend the whole amount on buying food for my family.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I am a widow, having been left behind by my husband after his untimely death upon being beaten by a dog. I am of age, 69 years and I don't own a shelter of my own. The house my husband left me with, was brought down by heavy rain and whirlwind. Since then, I have been staying in my son's small, mud-walled and leaking roof-top house. The house has no compartment, it is kitchen during the day, and serves as bedroom at night. The shame of not owning a house haunts me to-date. With the transfers, I plan to save to enable me build a small house, at least I also own a house of my own.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I am a born again Christian. Though I have some financial problems, whenever I get some money to enable me give offerings and tithe in church, that makes me happy.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Upon the death of my husband, I was left in the hands of the brother to my husband. He requested me for an inheritance, to which I objected because it is against the doctrine of my Christian faith. To my disbelief, the rejections caused disharmony between us. With my children, he sent us out of the compound, and denied us the authority to build in my husband's ancestral land. Through court battles, I was offered a small piece of land to make a home. Recently, land demarcation officers visited our ancestral land and unfortunately, I was not given a share of my husband's land. I am now living like a refuge in my husband land, something which hurts me to the core.
