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 saw the message notification at around 6 in the morning. I then decided to read the content and realized it was an Mpesa message from GiveDiretly. Finally, I had received my first transfer. I felt so happy and without wasting time, I sated planning how to utilize it.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The house that was initially my shelter was not in good condition. Its walls were very weak and I had to renovate them every now and then which was so costly. When it could rain heavily, I had to seek shelter from my relatives. I am now so happy because after the house will have been completed, my family will have a better and spacious house to live in happily. I will also be able to welcome my visitors without having any fear unlike before whereby I could shy away especially when someone pays me a visit. I am now so happy because I will no longer worry about the rain.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I spent part of my first transfer on buying some building materials such as iron sheets, building poles, nails, and timber. This was for the construction of a new house because the previous one was in poor condition. Having have received the money, my aim was to transform it from temporary to permanent. I then spent KES 6000 of the transfer to pay the mason his labor charge. The remaining amount I bought enough foodstuffs for my family that would take us to the next harvesting season.
Enrolled
access_time 4 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
My house is almost collapsing from the back something that has worried me for long owing to the fact that, my husband's casual jobs does not earn him much to enable us construct a new house. I have wished to repair it or if possibly construct a new one but this desire has remained to be a deadly dream. With the arrival of GiveDirectly, my hopes got renewed and I am happy to learn that soon, I will own a new and spacious house once I receive the cash grant. My plan is to spend a total of 400 dollars of my first transfer to accomplish this. On the other hand, I intend to spend an estimated cost of 380 dollars to buy an oxen and ox plough inclusively in order to help me upscaling my farming. This will change our livelihood as a family for the better, a version of life that I have long wished.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I mostly spend the better part of my day at the bush doing my charcoal work, a job that is very strenuous. This work makes me feel exhausted during the day time and it is only in the evening when I get ample time to rest. Therefore, evening is the happiest part of my day.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
My husband works as a coconut wine rapper, a job that is not reliable since it's a difficult one and at the same time low paying. This has forced us to live a life of sorrow since meeting our basic needs is a big challenge and sometimes we are pushed to seeking help from my relatives if my side odd jobs of charcoal burning has not yielded me income. Therefore, I feel that the lack of a reliable source of income as my biggest hardship.
