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 felt so happy the moment I received money from GiveDirectly. It was around morning hours when I confirmed that I had indeed received the money from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy and shared the good news with my brother and my father who had equally received their share. We were all happy and we planned well on how we were going to spend the money.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference is the payment of school fees for myself. I have all along been relying on well wishers to raise my school fees but I often felt I was a little of a bother to them knowing very well that they got their own personal needs and children to take care of as well. Having paid the fee I feel so much relieved and happy that my education won't be affected that much going forward.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
I used KES 14500 to pay my own school fees and used another KES 4000 to buy school uniforms for my children and used the remainder to build a new kitchen since I do not have one. I felt happy that I was for once going to help my sponsors for my secondary education to pay school fees since they all had the will to help me but often struggled with their own needs too. I am so much grateful to GiveDirectly for the support.
Enrolled
access_time over 2 years ago
What does receiving this money mean to you?
I'm a single mother of three. We separated with my husband two years ago when he refused to pay bride price. Initially I came home to nurse my mother when she was sick. But when she died, my father insisted that he has to pay before I could go back to him. He declined and I had to move on with my life. My brother then gave me a house to live in with my three children whom I enrolled into a local primary school. He has been supporting us to afford food and other basic needs. But the school fees of 4500 KES which I pay for my children per academic term is still so hard to raise without any form of a job. When I get this money I will spend it mostly to pay for my children's education.
What is the happiest part of your day?
I was very happy last year when the area chief along with other well wishers in this community decided that I had to go back to school. I had dropped out in class eight when I got married fourteen years ago. Through out the time I spent in that marriage, I was always wishing I could go back in time to overturn that decision. I'm glad my wish was fulfilled this way and I'm now back in school.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
Since I started living here I do not have a source of income, only depends on the support I get from my elder brother. Therefore it has been a lot of hustling to be able to feed my family and to keep my children in school. But I perfectly understand my brother cannot financially help us a hundred percent all the time.
