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 was headed home with firewood on my back from the farm at around 6 pm. That's when I received a message alert on my phone which was inside my pocket. Curious to know what the message was all about, I checked and confirmed to have received KES 55000 from GiveDirectly. I and my family were very happy at the receipt of the good news. We, therefore, withdrew the money the following day.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in my daily life is happiness because I no longer struggle with casual labor. This is because, with the transfers, I started an onion and sukuma wiki business with only KES 400 and this helps to feed my family without much struggle. Nowadays, I work under a shed in the market place but before I used to work under scorching heat without a sip of water to drink.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Before GiveDirectly, I relied on casual labor where I got up to KES 150 a day. This would be used in purchasing two cups of milk at KES 50 and KES 100 on two kilos of maize meal. This was the custom day in day out until the GiveDirectly transfers came.
My husband also worked as a tobacco seller to feed the family too until recently he got a knee accident after tripping on a slippery surface. So the money KES 31,000 that I had planned to purchase a dairy cow was used on his medication. Therefore, I decided to purchase a goat and its young one for KES 8000 as an alternative milk source.
Furthermore, I also spent KES 1, 000 on half a sack of maize meals. This will sustain my family for a longer time and KES 2,000 was used on clothing.
Lastly, I utilized, KES 1,500 on renting half an acre of land and KES 750 on plowing it to plant beans. This will ensure the availability of adequate food for my family in the next few months.
Enrolled
access_time almost 3 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
Receiving this money depicts raising a healthy family. We have been buying milk for domestic use because we don't own a cow. We spend KES 50 a day on milk alone which is not enough for my two school-going children to drink and to make tea. I feel my children are lacking essential nutrients found in milk. I, therefore, intend to spend approximately KES 30,000 of the transfer to acquire one dairy cow. Fulfilling this ambition will bring a feeling of satisfaction in my life because the family will get enough milk to consume and lead a healthy life.
What is the happiest part of your day?
We have been experiencing minimal rainfall for over the past five years. In the past six months, we have received sufficient rainfall in our area and we have grown crops for domestic use. This has brought joy and happiness because we have started harvesting maize from our small piece of land which is 0.5 of an acre.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Financial inadequacies are the major challenges we are currently facing. My husband and I work as casual laborers outside the village which we occasionally get one. When luck comes we get approximately KES 200 a day which is not enough to cater to a family of 4. The work we do entails digging, weeding, fencing, and any other work which is available at that time and the job itself is tiresome. We have been living in abject poverty and that is what angers me the most.
