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?
That day was like any other, and I had no idea the money had arrived. I went to my casual job early in the morning, focusing on my work. While I was there, I overheard people chatting about receiving their money, and I mentioned that I hadn’t received mine yet. I thought to myself that they were just lazy at work. Little did I know they were happy because they had money sitting in their M-Pesa accounts. In the evening, when I got home, I finally checked my phone and discovered that the money had come in. I felt a wave of joy, and my kids were excited too because they had heard other kids saying the money had arrived. My wife and I immediately decided that the first thing we needed to do was buy food since the kids had come home from school that afternoon and there was nothing to eat at home.
Describe the biggest difference in your daily life since you started receiving payments from GiveDirectly.
The biggest difference in our lives after receiving the transfer is that we now have enough food at home. Before, we often struggled to find meals, and our children were unhappy because they were hungry. Now, there is plenty of food, and our kids are very happy. This change has brought a sense of peace to our home. We no longer feel the stress of worrying about where our next meal will come from. Overall, the money has improved our lives by ensuring that we have enough to eat and that our family can enjoy each day together.
What did you spend your most recent transfer(s) on?
Life has been a struggle since our farms near Lake Baringo were swept away, leaving my family without food or a reliable source of income. My wife and I rely on casual jobs, earning only about $4 a day, which is not enough to support our family of six. After two days without food, we decided to go to Marigat Town to purchase supplies. We spent $90 on food, knowing that without it, we would face even more challenges. The situation was dire, with no trees left to burn for charcoal since many others in the community have resorted to the same means to make a living. With the remaining $90, we knew we had to improve our living conditions. Our old mattress was too small for our growing children, and it caused overcrowding at night. Therefore, we decided to purchase a new bed and a mattress, which would provide our children with the space they need to sleep comfortably. This change has brought us a sense of relief, knowing that our children can rest better at night. It may seem like a small step, but it means a lot to us. Furthermore, I feel a renewed sense of hope for our family's future. While life has been challenging since the floods and droughts, this cash transfer has given us the chance to secure basic necessities. It reminds me that, despite the hardships, there are ways to rebuild and provide for my family. We may not have everything we want, but we now have a comfortable place to sleep and enough food to eat, which is a significant improvement from our previous situation.
Enrolled
access_time 3 months ago
What do you plan to do with the cash transfer?
I am planning to allocate $30 to buy school uniform for 2 of my children who are attending school. I will spend another $500 to build a new house so that my children can have enough and a warm place to sleep while my wife and I can also enjoy our privacy with dignity.
What is the happiest part of your day?
Our village together with surrounding villages have the advantage of being positioned close to Lake Baringo. With sufficient water, farmers grow tomatoes through irrigation. This has become a source of our livelihood since we earn income through providing casual labor in these farms. I am happy because I earn a daily income($3) to buy food for my family.
What is the biggest hardship you've faced in your life?
I depend on fishing for a living. When we experienced flush floods 2 months ago, Lake Baringo has been marred with too much siltation thus affecting the water levels and quality of the lake water. Both of these shortcomings are not good for the fisherman and also affect the fish's breeding grounds. Consequently, the number of times I go out to fish has been reduced to twice a month thus affecting my income. The $15 I make cannot sustain my family of 6 with quality food, clothing and school fees for my children.