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 at home relaxing; that day, I didn’t leave the house because I was unable to secure a casual job. While feeling devastated about what we were going to eat that day, I heard a message on my phone. When I checked, I saw that I had received my first transfer from GiveDirectly. I was so excited, and I knew that we were finally going to have something for the evening. I immediately called my son, who is my helper, and shared the good news with him and my husband.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
I rely on casual jobs to meet our needs, and our main challenge has always been food, which is a daily necessity, but casual jobs are not consistent. Earlier on the day I received my transfer, I had looked for a casual job and found none. We didn’t have any food in the house, and I was deeply stressed, not knowing that God was already handling my problem. Receiving the transfer brought hope and eased my stress. I immediately addressed our food problem by buying maize, and we didn’t go without food that evening after skipping lunch. We were able to eat something, and for that, I am truly grateful to GiveDirectly.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Getting food has been a struggle, especially after I lost my maize on an acre of land to floods, and since then, I’ve been relying on casual jobs, which are not always available. On the day I received my transfer, I had gone out early to look for work but found none, and we had nothing to eat that day. Thankfully, the transfer arrived just in time, and I spent $30 to buy maize, which sustained us for a while. Despite losing my crops, I didn’t give up. I used part of the transfer to rent half an acre of land for $50, spent $30 on preparing it, and another $40 to buy butter bean seeds, which we planted as a family to save on costs. My son, who is in high school, was about to return to school, and since I didn’t have any other income, I used $32 from the transfer to pay for his fees. Thank you, GiveDirectly.
Enrolled
access_time 5 months ago
What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?
Receiving this money means my children will continue with their studies comfortably. I have four children, two in secondary school while.two are in grade six and seven. Due to lack of a stable income, I have school fees amounting to $900 and they are often sent home to collect the money. Since I do not have any assets that I can sell nor savings, they end up staying home hence missing on their studies. This affects their performance sometimes and am not happy about it. I plan on using the transfers to clear the balance and purchase school uniforms and books. The remaining will go into purchasing five goats to start up livestock keeping for future income generation. I am thankful to Give directly because my children will get food ,school fees and uniforms like other children.
What is the happiest part of your day?
My children bring me happiness,seeing them progress well in their studies gives me peace. I pray that they keep having good health as well as excelling in their examinations.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Providing basic needs for my family of six is the biggest challenge due to financial constraints. I do casual jobs to earn a living,due to its seasonal nature we are sometimes forced to forego one meal in a day. It is strenuous and I am not happy when my children do not get all their basic needs.
